The Thunderbolt's Tears
by Pyeknu
Summary: Based on R.J. Drozd's "Misuteru." After being separated from Ranma thanks to Happōsai's incense burner, a practically-orphaned Ranko meets a certain Jewel Warrior and is given an incredible offer. Also includes characters from UY, AzuDai and others.
1. Chapter 1

Tōkyō, the Imperial Palace . . .

"You have my thanks for coming so quickly."

"Your Majesty, a request from a head-of-state is something not to be treated lightly. Especially since it was _you_ that sent that message to me."

The Emperor of Japan chuckled as he gazed fondly on the twenty-something Western woman with the short-cut dark brown hair and the eyes the shade of a deep clear sky now kneeling across from him and his wife in the private meeting room deep within the palace grounds. "True, you are correct, Dean-san. Would you like some tea?"

A nod. "Please."

A servant immediately got to work preparing the cups of sencha. Once they were served, said servant immediately withdrew from the room. "I was briefed by the Prime Minister concerning your present situation," the Emperor then said. "Is it true that the Jewel you now possess was actually the _first_ one created by the Seekers?"

"That's not exactly correct, sir," the visitor stated as her eyes twinkled with amusement. "All the Jewels were created at the very same time. In essence, they were grown in much the same way fruit grows from a tree. A small dollop of ebony meson to act as the core of each Jewel, then covered by layers of both ruby and diamond meson encasing it in the exact 10-30-60 percent balance each Jewel needs to allow it to gather the maximum level of surrounding life force to grow its own energy in the matter that is needed to give each Jewel Warrior what power she desires." She then pointed to the beautiful necklace around her neck; she was dressed in a very lovely kimono that displayed a mixture of imaginary animals, though chief amongst them were pegasi, the winged horses of Greek myths which served as the central badge of her former military service, the Royal Corps of Canadian Air Cavalry. "The thing about my Jewel is this: The ebony meson in the core was actually the very _**core**_ of the ball of ebony meson that was employed to make the Jewels. Hence, my Jewel is seen as the 'Keystone Jewel.' The one with the ability to channel energy much more than any other Power Jewel."

"Ah!" the Emperor said, nodding. "And because of that, you've spent the last several decades - since shortly after the end of the Korean War - travelling to different planets to train other such as yourself in the use of their Power Jewels."

"Hai, I have."

Listening to their guest, the Empress - she was the only other person in the room - marvelled at how Japanese the native of southern Ontario and the current resident of northeast British Columbia (when she was on Earth) actually seemed to be. Even if her words and tone of voice were not uttered with the traditional levels of reverence people in Japan often expressed when it came to the Son of Heaven - though the Emperor didn't mind that as this woman _was_, in a way, an old friend of the family - her Japanese was Tōkyō-standard perfect with no hint of foreign accent whatsoever. Was this from what the Immortal Master had gifted his heir and successor as grandmaster of the School of the Star of Heaven? Was this some translation function the Power Jewel could give her Host? "It's been quite the journey," their visitor added. "I didn't see myself as any sort of racist - after what I discovered in occupied Europe during the Second World War, I could never be like many of my time - but encountering various sentient lifeforms . . . " She smiled. "A lot of which weren't really human . . . " A shrug. "Well, life is life. The Seekers understood that all too well."

"But what would this mean for your duties to protect Earth?" the Emperor asked.

A sigh. "You mean that whole 'Protector of All Life' nonsense?" As her host nodded, she took a deep breath. "Personally, that's just a load of horse manure people made up to heap on my shoulders as a way of trying to curry my favour whenever things go really bad." As his hosts both laughed - it was rather rare for someone visiting them to use such coarse language in their presence - she then added, "From what some of my non-Jewel Warrior students have told me, there've been attempts worldwide at forming cults to worship me as a local version of an _arahitogami_ or an _akitsumikami_!" As her hosts both scowled on hearing that - for the longest time, the people of Japan had looked on the various Sons of Heaven as living gods descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu; officially, that had been finally done away with in 1946 by the Emperor's father at the insistence of the Allied occupational authorities - she added, "Despite all my power, Your Majesty, I'm just a normal woman underneath it all. A woman who was born in the Victorian Era, forced to grow up on the very frontiers of her home society, made to literally become immortal and weld the power equal to the great gods of any of the pantheons of Europe combined when I found this trinket . . . " - she pointed to the Power Jewel nestled right over the manubrium of her breastbone - " . . . and then had to find a way to best use that power for all those she took an oath to protect."

"Which means there are times that you often get fatigued of being the hero," the Son of Heaven then stated, nodding in understanding.

A tired smile. "Hai, I do. Though I'd never really call myself a 'hero.' I've always seen myself as a soldier first and foremost. Unlike almost all of the members of the spandex brigade that started appearing just before the Second World War, I'm not so shy about taking lives when it's ultimately necessary." A shrug. "And when I'm given clearance to do something like that by the government back in Ottawa, of course. Or when I'm dealing with ruling authorities on other planets," she added.

"Well, that's understandable. Still, others like me have professed a concern that your prolonged absence from the scene may have allowed things to get too out of hand," the Emperor then mused. "Now, they don't blame you personally for not being there for things like the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 and the like, but they do realise that having a Jewel Warrior - which is a different class of metahuman than what has normally been appearing across the planet since before World War Two - at one's beck and call would make things a lot easier for national governments."

"I will not be the cause of provoking World War Three, sir."

A chuckle; he was quick to sense what she really meant by that. She would not wish to provoke a "metahuman arms race" among the nations similar to what had happened before World War One concerning the construction of dreadnought battleships, especially between Britain and Germany. "I didn't expect you would do that, Major. Let me give you this and see what you think," the Emperor said before handing a folder over to her.

Setting the tea cup aside, the visitor took the offered document with both hands and a deep bow of the head before she opened it and scanned the top page there. Her eyebrow then arched. "A victim of Zhòuquán-xiāng . . . " she said, speaking of the cursed valley in the mountains of Qīnghǎi with the native Chinese term in lieu of the local transliteration of the characters that went into that name, "Jusenkyō." "So she was created by a magical incense burner Happōsai stole from the Nǚjiézú, then because there was no way to reintegrate her back into her original self's body, she was given a total separate identity. An adopted cousin of the family the original self's supposed to marry into . . . " A shake of the head as she then added in an angry hiss, "Stupid people . . . that's _**not**_ the way to deal with a curse from _that_ place." A sigh. "Still, it is too late to reintegrate her; she's lived separate for the right amount of time to have her own body naturally develop from the food she eats . . . "

"Due to her being effectively cut out of her old life, she was finally forced to leave home about a week ago," the Emperor stated. "Fortunately for her, a recently deceased relative - her paternal grandmother - made provisions for this in her will; she found out about her new granddaughter just before she passed away. A lawyer who worked for the family in question intercepted her almost within hours of her departing the Tendō home in Nerima and transported her to her grandmother's home in Taitō, where the necessary documentation for her that had been prepared beforehand was finally presented to her." He then smiled. "From what I heard, she was more than pleased to no longer live a life under the name 'Tendō Ranko;' she's accepted her new identity well. But tell me, Major . . . would she qualify as a Jewel Warrior?"

Major (retired) Deannette Antonia Raeburn blinked as she considered that question, and then her eyebrows arched. "That, I can find out for you."

Her hosts were quick to smile. "Please do so," the Emperor said. "This would resolve several issues your apprenticeship with Master Hosan provoked, would it not?"

A smirk. "It would . . . "

* * *

_**The Thunderbolt's Tears**_  
by Fred Herriot

Based on _Ranma 1/2_, created by Takahashi Rumiko.

Major Raeburn and all related characters and situations are my creation.

Also including characters and situations from the _Indiana Jones_ series, created by George Lucas and Steven Spielburg; _Azumanga Daioh_, created by Azuma Kiyohiko; _Urusei Yatsura_, created by Takahashi Rumiko; _Kōtetsu Tenshi Kurumi_, created by Kaisahku (Ōta Hitoshi and Shichinohe Terumasa); the Jack Ryan novels, written by Tom Clancy; plus various characters and situations as appearing in publications of DC Entertainment and Marvel Publishing, Inc.

Also based on the events and situations depicted in the fan fiction stories _Misuteru_, written by R.J. Drozd; _Wanderers_, written by Fred Herriot; and the fan fiction series _The Senior Year_, created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot.

* * *

_**WRITER'S INTRODUCTION:**__ This plot bunny's been munching on my brain-cells for some time now, ever since I've begun to read "split-and-abandon" fics such as the above-mentioned _Misuteru_ and some of the other fics that came in its wake such as its quasi-sequel, _The Ghost of Curses Past_ by J.P. Buckner. For those not familiar with Mr. Drozd's work, _Misuteru_ is a letter from the female Ranma ("Ranko" if you wish) to Kasumi, which she wrote sometime after she was split away from her male side thanks to one of Happ__ō__sai's devices and found her life stolen from her because she felt she was unwanted by everyone she had once associated with when she was actually part of Ranma. This story, put into the continuity of _Misuteru_, takes place immediately after that story._

_This also will be the first true "test story" where I will actually have Major Raeburn (whom I've mentioned in many of my works, including _Wanderers_) appear._

_Ranma's and Kanami's family relations are the same as what appeared in _Phoenix From the Ashes_, which was partially inspired by MadHat886's fanfic _Suikoden One Half_._

_Also note, all Oriental names are written in "family name-first" order, with Occidental names written in "family name-last" order._

_As always, writer's notes will follow at the end of the story text._

* * *

Tōkyō, Taitō Ward, near Ueno Park . . .

"This is so weird . . . "

The young woman seated alone in the middle of the living room of the Western-style family home located a couple blocks from Shinobazu Pond could only shake her head as she gazed around, having just finished a sumptuous breakfast that had been prepared for her by one of her late grandmother's friends. She had gladly volunteered to come over three times a day for the next few weeks to make sure the woman now legally known as "Hayashi Kanami" would feel at home and be able to fend for herself during the transition period she would need to undergo in the wake of her hasty departure from the Tendō home. And while her whole life seemed to have hit rock-bottom thanks to what had ultimately happened to her when the incense burner that created her from the living spirit of Saotome Ranma a month ago, it did look like it was going to improve.

But where would she go from here . . .?

Still, she couldn't really complain. When she finally departed the Tendō home in the wake of that stupid incident with the cats that Nodoka had provoked on Ranma - which prompted "Ranko" to smash the dunderheaded, over-honoured idiot into the stone fence of the property, then threaten to destroy her family sword when she moved to have her punished, accusing her of having no honour at all (which was enough to make Nodoka cower) - Kanami was literally left with next to nothing save the clothes on her back, a backpack she had taken from her "brother" with some supplies, plus all the cash she could get her hands on. Two hours later, she met a man named Hashimoto Naoyuki, a lawyer who represented a recently deceased grandmother Kanami never heard of before, who had several informants keep an eye on her as soon as she had literally been "born" and who had picked up on her departure from Nerima almost as soon as it happened.

And what said lawyer had brought with him . . .

_A trust fund made in a will; originally intended for Ranma but now fully in my own hands. Enough money to not only live comfortably for the rest of my life - with investments to keep the money coming in - but even to put me through university all the way to a doctorate degree if I want to go that far. Even better, 'Uncle' can't touch a damned yen of it thanks to his being thrown out of the Hayashi Clan the day he finally married 'Auntie.'_ Remembering what she had been told about the break of relations between the former Hayashi Genma and his parents Shinji and Chiaki, Kanami could only snort. _Figures! With the way Oyaji loves to screw up people's lives, it's no wonder Obaba and Ojiji wanted nothing to do with him anymore! When Ofukuro's parents came asked that Oyaji changed names when he married her, Obaba and Ojiji were more than happy to go along to it! Perfect case of making someone _muyōkōshi_!_

She then snickered as she remembered what else Hashimoto had told her. _To believe Ofukuro vents out on being 'honourable' like she does when she's bloody part-_American_ of all things!_ Kanami then hummed. _Maybe I should pass it on to Kun__ō__ and Kodachi. Let them go to town on everyone for the 'filthy foreign sorcerer' seeking to pollute the 'beautiful Tend__ō__ Akane' like he always accused Ranma of doing all the time._ She then blinked as something else came to her. _Hey! If I'm part-American, I guess that means that I can't be the 'perfect pig-tailed goddess' Kun__ō__'s always imagined me of being! That'd be one easy way to get the twerp off my back once and for all!_ She would have to speak to the lawyer about that when he came by sometime . . .

The doorbell rang. "Hai, just a minute!" she called out as she headed to the genkan, slipped on a pair of outdoor shoes, and then opened the front door to head to the main gate of the property. While not as vast as the Tendō property in Nerima, the Hayashi home in Taitō was still quite large as Japanese family homes came; as they had once been patrons of the famous temple at Kan'ei-ji, the Hayashi of Inari-chō had been allowed by Shōgun Tokugawa Ietsuna to establish a modest family home not so far from the temple grounds located at the north end of the modern Ueno Park. While the family grounds themselves were semi-traditional, the house was thoroughly modern and Western in design; the original Hayashi home had been destroyed in the Battle of Ueno in 1868 and the replacement house had survived both the Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923 and the fire-bombings of Tōkyō in 1945 by the Americans with little lasting damage.

Opening the front gate, Kanami called out, "Hai?"

"Hayashi Kanami, I presume."

Surprised to meet a clearly Western woman - though dressed quite sharp in a lovely kimono - who could speak flawless Japanese, Kanami then nodded. "Hai?"

A hand came out. "Dean Raeburn. Pleased to meet you."

Kanami blinked before her jaw dropped. "Raeburn-shōsa . . .?" she gasped before catching herself and then she waved the other woman in. "Come in! Come in!" she bade before noting that a limousine was now driving off towards the Nakamachi-dōri. "Um . . . aren't they going to be staying here?" she asked, pointing at the departing car.

Dean shook her head. "Nah. I just got brought here from the Kōkyo; the Emperor kinda insisted on giving me a ride over here."

Silence.

"The . . . _Emperor_ . . .?" Kanami squeaked.

Dean smirked. The kid was right now totally off-kilter - unlike other "mystery men" and "superheroes," the long-retired Canadian Army air cavalry major-turned-specialised warfare operative didn't have much of a "fan base," but it was still there, mostly concentrated among martial arts practitioners drawing their knowledge from the ancient martial ways that had ruled Japan for centuries - but that was more than understandable, especially after what she had just been through the last week or so. "He's an old friend of mine, as is his wife. Stand easy, kid; I won't bite."

Kanami blinked several times, and then she breathed out. "Don't tell me this is something Obaba or Ojiji arranged. Is it?" she asked, scratching the back of her head.

"No, it's not. And I'm sorry that you're practically living on your own now that your grandparents are gone. Believe me, I know what being an orphan's about."

Hearing that, Kanami stared at the older woman - even if Dean looked to be in her mid-twenties, it was known that she had been born in the summer of 1867; when she gained the use of the Power Jewel in the spring of 1892, her aging process had been stopped cold, making her quasi-immortal - and then she gave her a wary look. "Don't tell me this is something Oyaji or Ofukuro did," she then said as she crossed her arms. "Hashimoto-san said when he brought me here that I was clear of all that."

"Yes, you are clear of everything those people in Nerima did to you," Dean said. "As far as I can tell, but I don't know the whole story. Give me a moment . . . "

And with that, the glistening silver crystal with the darkish red-and-black core under her jaw began to glow. The dress kimono then disappeared in a shower of energy, being replaced by a rather plain white martial arts gi top with a black pair of hakama trousers, her feet now covered by standard tabi socks and a pair of zōri sandals. One that was done, the Canadian relaxed. "Okay, can we go inside now?" she asked.

Kanami stared at her, and then she shrugged, waving her inside . . .

* * *

Nerima, the Tendō home . . .

"Is there any chance to bring Kanami-chan back?"

Hearing that pained question from her older sister, Nabiki tried not to wince. While she didn't care too much about the whole engagement nonsense and found it quite hard these days to feel anything for the other elements of her family, she did still have a heart when it came to her older sister. And it was understandable after all; Kasumi had been the rock by which the remainder of the family had held onto in the wake of the death of their mother Kimiko from breast cancer many years ago. While Nabiki hoped that her sister would finally get it into her head that it was time to let go of her promise to keep the house intact and go live her life, she doubted it would happen anytime soon. Since Akane seemed unwilling to learn anything about keeping house and all that despite her practically spending whole days at the Saotome residence under Nodoka's tutelage - given his upbringing, Ranma wasn't encouraged to care for such "girly" things - the chances of Kasumi getting her own life were slim to zero.

"No," Nabiki then declared. "The wills written by both of Oji-chan's parents are pretty airtight. Technically, the Hayashi lawyers would be within their rights to legally sever all bonds between Ranma-kun and his parents too because of the promise they made when they got married." Thinking of that contract - which (unlike a certain seppuku agreement that had haunted their sister's fiancé until the incense burner had effectively dealt with the problem of Jusenkyō) _**had**_ been properly registered and fully notarised with the Taitō ward offices - Nabiki could only smile at the sheer genius of Hayashi Shinji and his wife Chiaki. To leave a lurking time bomb like _that_ ready to be unleashed whenever it was needed had been just poetic, especially when it came to the matter of the woman originally called "Tendō Ranko" and living currently under the name "Hayashi Kanami." "I can guess why Oji-chan and Oba-chan act as if they're walking on eggshells now. Ranma-kun may not be book-smart and may not understand everything about what civil society is all about, but he's still quite bright and he catches onto things real quick. Once he realises he can get rid of almost all the engagements just like _that_ . . .!" She snapped her fingers in emphasis. "He'll do it without hesitation."

Kasumi blinked, and then she sighed. "What if he _does_ do that?"

"That depends on Kanami's good graces," Nabiki replied. Everyone in the Tendō and Saotome families had been served warning that if they did ANYTHING to try to press anything on the new heiress of the Hayashi Clan, the full weight of the law would come down on their heads. And given the actions of certain members of both families, that was to be avoided like the plague. Effectively, it meant none of them could travel to Taitō Ward to even _visit_ Kanami; her lawyer made it quite clear that a potential spell in a prison cell would await anyone who dared go over to violate her private space. For Nabiki, that had spelt the total end of all picture trading when it came to the redhead; all the people at school had been made aware of the same situation and had quietly buried all visible pictures of "Ranma-chan" they possessed. The only violator of that was Kunō Tatewaki, but there were other ways to keep that fellow chained down.

"She could welcome him into the family. She could go so far as to charge Oji-chan and Oba-chan with child abuse; the laws are a little unclear in that respect. She could even go so far as to humiliate Oba-chan by revealing who her grandfather happens to be to the general public." _That_ little titbit of information - which wouldn't be truly effective as Genma and Sōun were both well aware of Nodoka's relationship to one Professor Henry W. "Indiana" Jones Jr. - was being held in reserve in case Ranma's mother decided to force her will on her future in-laws more than what was permitted for her position. "Or she could say that he deserves everything he has to deal with and deny him a chance to change his name and clear up his own honour by _that_ route."

Kasumi blinked. "You don't think she'll go _that_ far, will she?"

"She actually might. After all, in effect, her whole _**life**_ was stolen when she was forced to become 'Tendō Ranko.' And what's worse, Kanami's whole life was stolen by none other than _Ranma-kun_ himself. It wasn't bad enough that Oji-chan and Otō-chan effectively stopped her from improving her own skills - not to mention Oba-chan riding her all the time to be 'ladylike' - but all her friends effectively decided she just wasn't worth knowing anymore. Or in the case of a pair of arrogant fools from China, she was just an open target deserving to be destroyed once and for all time."

A sigh. "Not to mention other things, too," Nabiki added as a particular point of a certain letter echoed once more in her mind: _All the heartless bitch has ever seen in me is a cash-cow, one she can milk for all her heart's content . . . not that anyone else in your house ever gave a shit about what I was going through. Pity she won't be able to do it anymore. And it's no wonder that she has no friends. To Nabiki, people are just suckers waiting to be fleeced_. Remembering _that_ statement about her, Nabiki tried not to wince again. Ranma had always been forgiving in his own oafish way when it came to whatever she did to earn money for herself. To have Kanami come out and _say_ it so publicly had hurt more than Nabiki thought was possible.

"Do Shampoo-chan and Mousse-kun know where she lives now?" Kasumi asked.

A shake of the head. "No. And I doubt that anyone here will say anything to either of them if they asked," Nabiki answered. And while the Tendō sisters and Ranma were all guilt-ridden in their own way over what their actions during the previous month had done to a totally innocent soul, the adults in the house had reasons other than guilt to keep them silent. To Nodoka, Genma and Sōun, it was no doubt fear over what might happen if Kanami decided to exercise her rights - as given to her by her late grandparents - to yank Ranma clear of their grasp and put a total end to the "union of the schools" and the "union of the families" they wanted. As for Happōsai, while he was personally quite upset that his "sweet Ranko-chan" was no longer in the house for him to "comfort" anymore, he wouldn't do anything to put her in danger; after all, she was a very pretty girl. Pretty girls needed to be kept safe, after all.

A sigh. "That's good . . . "

Nabiki's cell-phone then rang. "Tendō," she called into it.

"It's me," a male voice called back.

"What is it?"

"You wouldn't believe what's happening now with Kanami-chan, Boss."

"What?"

"I just spotted a strange Western woman in a kimono be driven up to her house in a limousine. A limousine with _Imperial Palace_ license plates! And when she was brought inside, the clothes actually _**changed**_ to a simple gi-and-hakama setup!"

Nabiki's eyes widened as her mind nearly overloaded from the information that had just been dumped on her. "Did you get pictures?"

Kasumi gasped, instantly sensing what her sister was talking about. "Nabiki!"

The middle daughter waved her older sister down. "Got two," her caller then announced. "Just sent them by e-mail to you right now."

"Good work. I'll contact you back."

"Right."

The connection was cut. "Nabiki!" Kasumi gasped again.

"Quiet," Nabiki said as she turned on her computer.

"If Kanami-chan finds out you're spying on her . . .!"

"I'm not _spying_ on her," Nabiki evenly stated as the Windows program came up and she waited for her home screen to appear. "I'm just making sure things are alright with her now that's she got a home to call her own. After all, we may be stopped from going after her personally, but that doesn't stop the other dolts from going after her. And what's to stop her from coming after _us_ with both barrels if she thinks _we_ were responsible for something like that?" As soon as the home screen appeared, she took the mouse and clicked on her web browser, bookmarked to her private e-mail service. "That letter she left us had a pretty ugly undertone to it. In her eyes, you were nice to her, but you were never really her friend. She felt betrayed by you telling her not to make noise about what she really was, remember? You know her attitudes about me. Who knows what she'll think of Akane now. Given that she hooked up with the lawyers right after she left us, who knows _what_ could be going through her mind these days."

The e-mail soon came up and Nabiki clicked on the latest message that was there. Soon enough, she got both pictures downloaded. Bringing up her image viewer, she then blinked on seeing the older woman standing in front of Kanami on the front lawn of the Hayashi home. "Who the hell is she . . .?" she wondered. "Pretty ritzy kimono . . . "

"Oh, my!"

Nabiki turned, unfazed that Kasumi was now leaning over her shoulder. "You recognise her?" she then asked as she looked back at the picture.

"Bring up the other picture," Kasumi asked.

Nabiki did so, and then she blinked. "Damn!"

"Oh, MY!" Kasumi then gasped, quick to notice the sudden change of clothes, and then she leaned up, quickly noting the time-index written at the bottom right corner of each picture. "Can you blow up the area around that woman's neck?"

"Just a sec' . . . "

The pictures were loaded into a graphics program, and then Nabiki called it up to magnify the area of the photos that had caught her sister's attention. Fortunately, the image had been taken from a digital camera and not a camera mounted in a cell-phone; the clarity was truly something to behold. On seeing that intricate necklace, Nabiki then gaped. "Oh, ye gods! I don't believe it . . .!" she breathed out.

"That's _Raeburn-sh__ō__sa_ . . .!" Kasumi declared.

"What the hell is _she_ doing there?"

The two women exchanged looks . . .

* * *

Taitō, the Hayashi home . . .

"So that's the whole story."

Dean Raeburn gazed at her, and then took a deep breath before lifting the lit cigar to her lips and taking a deep pull of the soothing tobacco fumes. Fortunately for her host, the Jewel had long been conditioned to create a special air-bubble around the head and upper body of its Host so that second-hand smoke wouldn't be a problem for anyone close to her; whatever tobacco and nicotine fumes that were taken into the lungs were automatically broken down into basic hydrocarbon molecules that fell harmlessly to the ground. Watching her do this, Kanami could only grin; Major Raeburn had always said that "you have to have at least _**one**_ good vice in your life to make you truly human in the long run!" . . . and she had lived it every moment of her nearly century-and-a-half of life. "Well, I will admit that you had every right to walk out of that place if they were treating you like that," she then stated as she set aside the cigar stub in an ashtray Kanami provided, then calling up a little bit of energy to disintegrate what was left. "Now I understand why Indy seemed so sad whenever people spoke of Japan to him. To believe your great-great-grandparents did THAT to the poor man!"

Kanami gaped. "You know Hiijii-chan?"

A nod. "Didn't meet him until the war. He was a colonel in the Office of Strategic Services at the time, helping out with archaeological matters for the Allies. He got the Medal of Honour for helping rescue some of the monks - and their more priceless relics - from the abbey on Monte Cassino in '44 before Fifth Army blew it all to hell and back as they were moving in on Rome." She smiled. "He's a good man deep down. I honestly didn't believe there was a woman out there other than Marian Ravenwood that had caught his eye, but from those pictures of your great-grandma you showed me, she was a pretty lady." Dean relaxed. "Have you contacted him yet?"

The younger woman nodded. "Yeah. Day after the judge here in Taitō officially declared me forever free of Oyaji and Ofukuro. He told me about where the so-called 'honour sword' came from." As the Canadian's eyebrow arched, her host smirked. "It was a _bridal gift_ to the Saotome Clan when Hiijii-chan sought permission to marry Hiibā-chan. He got it specially forged from a descendant of Norishige Saeki himself! And when he found out about Ojii-chan being born before Hiibā-chan died in '45, he came here to get Ojii-chan out of Japan - _**per Hiib**__**ā**__**-chan's deathbed wishes!**_ - and he was chased off the property by her parents at the end of the sword _he_ had given _them_ six years earlier!" A snort. "So why the hell should I care for a family like THAT?"

"Don't blame you," Dean noted. "My uncle arranged for my parents and my sister to be killed in a fire back in 1882. I was lucky to be visiting a friend in Queenston when it happened. Fortunately for me, the fire marshal discovered it was arson right away, so my friends got me on the first train out of Toronto west before Uncle realised I was still alive and could put a rock into his hopes of getting the family fortune. Believe me, I know about crazy relatives wanting to hurt you for their own purposes."

Kanami gaped. "What happened to your uncle?"

A wink. "Something called 'World War Two' eventually happened. That was the first war where metahumans were fighters. It didn't take me long to let it leak out that dear Uncle Edward was secretly supporting research into creating more metahumans."

"Like the Super Soldier Project that created Captain America?"

A nod. "The very same. Right after that, my favourite sparring partner from that war sent a couple of people to deal with dear Uncle directly. And terminally, too." Dean shook her head. "Never got what they wanted, but they sure made it easy for me to claim the family fortune when the dust all settled in the end."

Kanami stared at her, and then she laughed. "You set him up!"

"After taking my sister away from me, what do you think I should've done?"

Silence fell as the younger woman considered that, and then she sighed. "Well, if you found out that he was responsible for the deaths of your sister and your parents - you _did_ find that out, did you?" At the Canadian's nod, Kanami shrugged. "Then you did the right thing. Even more, there could be no question of any sort of guilt on your part. Research into the Super Soldier Project and all that _**was**_ being done by the Allies." A shrug. "All it ended up being was faulty intelligence. From what I heard, the Nazis weren't bright when it came to that sort of thing." She then peered directly at her guest. "What happened to the Nazi metas that went after your uncle?"

"My team and I captured and disarmed them. By the end of the war, they had been fully depowered. They got repatriated to Germany after it was all over." A smirk. "I made sure they got care packages from the Red Cross, of course. Anonymously."

Kanami nodded. "You did the right thing. You couldn't go after the bastard directly, but you still got justice for your parents and your sister. No bad." She took a deep breath. "What would the Emperor want with me, anyway? All I am . . .!"

"You're a victim, Kanami," Dean stated. "A victim of a bunch of people who have their own petty agendas to pursue. People who didn't care a bit about what _you_ wanted. That, in the eyes of His Majesty and the others who want you to work for the government like I did for Ottawa once, is wrong. Now, you have pretty much broken away from your father and his 'school' in Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū. It's a good school despite its current reputation, but I think I can teach you a few tricks beyond what you've learned under your father's, Happy's and Cologne's tutelage. Once I accredit you as a student in the Tensei-ryū, you can strive for your mastery. When you become master, I'll let you take over the dōjō at Watari-shima. In essence, the Tensei-ryū will be in the hands of a Japanese native, which is what His Majesty would desire in the end."

Kanami blinked as she considered that, and then she asked, "They're not angry at you for being made Grandmaster when Master Hosan died, are they?"

A shake of the head. "No. When Papa-sensei killed himself in '37 and allowed me to absorb all his knowledge like he did, he was making a statement against the militarists who were marching this country into a war it couldn't win. Not against the people of Japan as a whole; even if they were buying into the garbage the militarists were selling, he didn't feel it right to overthrow them as they did possess the Shôwa Emperor's favour at the time and he would not be charged with _lèse majesté_. After it was all over, I had a private audience with the Emperor's father and offered to train someone to take my place as Grandmaster of the school then and there. He asked me to hold off for the time being." A sigh. "The Shōwa Emperor was a sweet man underneath it all, Kanami. Forced to do things he believed was right . . . and his country nearly died for it. He wanted to atone for what happened to all those who had fought and died in his name." A shake of the head. "But the Americans under Harry Truman and Doug MacArthur were afraid that if he was tried like all the others were being tried at the time, it would throw the country into chaos and allow either the Communists or home-grown Nazis to take over, which would have made sure another war would've come right afterward. They didn't want that." Dean shrugged. "So he saw my becoming Grandmaster of the Tensei - and thus denying the militarists the ability to make use of others trained in the Art for their own purposes - as an act of the Kami to punish him and Japan for the hubris that make that war happen like it did. But these days, there's need for people trained in the Tensei-ryū to serve the government - and the Throne - once more. So they want someone rated at least as a master at their beck and call when something weird happens. And they think _you're_ the best person for the job."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"M-m-m-ME?"

Dean nodded. "You're already at what I'd personally consider 'level two' in the Art, Kanami. In normal ninjutsu, you'd be rated as a _chūnin_, almost on the cusp of becoming a _jōnin_. If you're willing to take training under me, I'll be more than happy to correct some of the problems you've acquired thanks to your father's training, plus expose you to things you haven't had the chance to experience because your father went and isolated you like he did while you were on the road. When I feel you're ready for it, I'll put you through the Trials and you'll then be rated as a master in the Tensei-ryū. At that point, you will have the right to take on your own students."

Kanami blinked as she considered that, and then she breathed out, "I would really like that," she then confessed. "I thought I would lose all chances of doing the Art when Oyaji told me to stop practicing, especially when Ofukuro wanted to start making me more like a lady . . . but _that_?" Her eyes then glistened with tears before she started to nod. "Yes, I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll do it . . .!"

Immediately, she was swept into the older woman's arms. Feeling the comfort that embrace gave her, Kanami shuddered before she broke down and wept . . .

* * *

Nerima, the Tendō home . . .

"D-d-d-Deannie is there . . .?"

For Saotome Genma and Tendō Sōun, this was truly a moment in history.

"Hai. She visited Kanami-chan right after a visit to the Imperial Palace."

To see their dreaded, hated master now as white as a ghost and shivering as if he had been caught nude in the middle of the Arctic ice cap.

"You sure it was Raeburn-shōsa, Nabiki?"

At the peak of the last Ice Age.

"Yep. Clothes transformed from a very nice kimono to the same type of gi-and-hakama getup that Kunō-chan likes to wear all the time. All in the space of a second."

A moan escaped the grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū as he passed out. "Oh, my!" Kasumi then gasped. "Ojii-san, are you alright . . .?"

Staring at the slumped heap of aged humanity on the floor, Genma and Sōun then exchanged looks, and then they leapt over to tie Happōsai up on a stake before they marched him out of the living room. The others at the table - Nodoka had totally isolated herself in the Saotome home in the wake of the revelations behind "Tendō Ranko," devastated at the thought that a _daughter_ she could have claimed as her own wanted _**nothing**_ to do with her anymore - ignored them; given that Happōsai was broken-hearted over the fact that Kanami no longer lived in the house, he wasn't acting up as he used to and his students were taking as much advantage over it as they could.

Gazing at her fiancé, Akane was quick to see the sad look on his face; Ranma had been taking the departure of his "sister" in all but name the hardest of all. "Ranma, you should be happy for her," she said as she moved to gently grasp his hand. "She's got support, a place to live, a name to truly call her own and she has nothing hanging over her anymore. She has the ability to chart her own life now. And you're still free of the curse. We all came out winners here. What's so wrong with that?"

"Then why is it _Major Raeburn_ of all people went to see her?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sure Raeburn-shōsa has her reasons, Ranma-kun," Kasumi stated. "As I recall, she is the Grandmaster of the Tensei-ryū, which is the group that has served the Imperial Throne for over sixteen hundred years. Legend has it that the man who founded the school was immortal, having lived right up to the start of the Greater East Asia War before he allowed himself to die and gave his knowledge to a worthy heir."

"It's true, Kasumi-san."

Eyes locked on Ranma. "How did you know that, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki asked.

He sighed. "When I was travelling with Oyaji on the trip, we visited all sorts of martial arts halls and shrines to learn things. Almost every place I went to during that time, I read scrolls detailing the history of the Tensei-ryū and Master Hosan. We never went to Watari-shima . . . " - that, a tiny island off the coast of the Nemuro Peninsula on the eastern tip of Hokkaidō itself, was the site of the home dōjō of the School of the Star of Heaven - " . . . but we did train up north and I met people who actually managed to get a chance to train there. They told me about Master Hosan and Major Raeburn. How he got so mad at the militarists who got us into that stupid war with the Americans in the first place, then committed seppuku, but found a way to dump all his life's knowledge - _**all five thousand years of it!**_ - into the major's head back in '37." As the women in the room gasped, he then smirked. "I'd kill for a chance to train under her. She's got Jijii and Elder Cologne beat fifty ways from Sunday! I doubt even this _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_ thing I've heard so much about would come close to beating her! But given what I let happen . . . " He shook his head.

The Tendō sisters looked sympathetically at him, and then Akane reached over to squeeze her fiancé's shoulder. "Let's give Kanami a little time to cool off," she then suggested. "She'll get over a lot of it soon enough . . . "

Ranma then perked before he sighed. "'Evening, old ghoul!"

_WHACK!_ "Do you honestly do that on purpose, Son-in-Law?" an aged woman's voice then demanded from the doorway as the others looked over.

He chuckled as he pulled Cologne's cane away from his head and handed it back to her. "Well, when you stop calling me 'son-in-law,' I'll consider it," he said, though Kasumi was quick to sense the touch of mirth in his voice on saying that.

The Nǚjiézú elder laughed on hearing that. "Good evening, Elder," Kasumi then stated. "Would you like some tea?" she then offered.

A nod. "Please, my dear. I just came here from the restaurant after hearing a most surprising story from my great-granddaughter and the part-timer about events that happened here while I was gone back to the village." As Cologne took her place - where Happōsai had been sitting, the others all noticed - she then gazed intently at Ranma. "So tell me everything about your sister, child. How was she created?"

Ranma sighed . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_


	2. Chapter 2

Yokota Air Base, on the borders between Fussa, Musashimurayama, Hamura and Mizuho (25 kilometres west of Nerima; 35 kilometres west of Taitō), next morning . . .

"Professor Jones, on behalf of the Fifth Air Force, welcome to Yokota."

The past-middle aged man — now descending the boarding ramp of the C-20J Gulfstream IV executive jet that had just landed at the headquarters airfield of the American air division currently assigned to augment the aerospace defence of Japan under applicable treaties — was dressed semi-formally. This was his "teaching outfit": The tweed suit, vest, button shirt, tie and polished Oxford shoes that he always wore when he was in the lecture hall, even now, years after his official retirement from the staff at Marshall. Of course, his beloved Australian-style fedora hat with the Petersham brow was on his head; it never left him no matter what he did, either in the class or in the field. An overnight bag was being carried by a female senior airman behind him. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he tried not to grin too much at the lieutenant-general who commanded 5 AF, now saluting him. But that was to be expected.

The blue hexagonal rosette on his collar, it decorated with thirteen white stars, always drew the sharp eye of any serving member of the American armed forces.

With that, the newcomer returned the salute with a smile. "Thank you, General. I was told that transportation was arranged for me ahead of time."

"Yes, sir! The car is waiting close by. Plain car, just like you asked."

A nod; he was trying desperately NOT to blush at all this tomfoolery that had been laid out at the direct order of the President of the United States of America. "Excellent. But before I get to the car, would you mind if I go somewhere to change?"

A smile. "Yes, sir!" He pointed over to the nearest hangar. "The guards there will show you the exact place to go, Professor."

A salute. "Thank you again, General."

With that, he walked to the hangar, where two Security Forces security specialists - what they used to call "military policemen" (or less-flattering terms) back in the old days - were standing guard. Both men came to attention and saluted as he came up. "Washroom?" the professor asked as he returned the salute.

One of the MPs smiled. "Right this way, sir!"

He was led inside the washroom, located at the southern wall of the hangar. As soon as the professor had gone inside and closed the door after him, the MP returned to his place beside his friend. "So who the hell was that guy?" the other MP whispered.

"See the rosette?" the first one asked.

A nod. "Who is he?"

A barely noticeable shrug. "Search me."

Minutes later, the door then opened, allowing Indiana Jones to step outside. "Thank you, gentlemen," he said as the MPs braced themselves to attention and saluted, both of their jaws now dropping in shock as they took in the sight of the professor from Marshall, now in his "field clothes": A-2 leather flight jacket, underlying brown T-shirt, a bag strap slung over his right shoulder attached to a Mark VII British gas mask bag, worn canvas pants, red brown field shoes and his trusty whip coiled up and tied to his Sam Browne belt (with no pistol or holster, of course). And the fedora, of course.

By then, the senior airman - _Shouldn't that be 'airwoman?'_ Indiana thought to himself - had come up to him. "I'll take your overnight bag, Professor."

"I'll come back for it when I can," Indiana said.

A sharp salute. "Yes, sir!"

They headed off. "Holy shit . . .!" one of the MPs breathed out as he tried his best to maintain some sort of military decorum. "Was that . . .?"

"Yeah. It was," the other MP affirmed with a nod.

"The guys back at the hut won't believe this!"

"I'm not sure I do, either!"

By then, Indiana had got to the car that was set aside for him, a plain silver Honda Accord. A driver, a local man dressed similarly to the fellows that worked for the secret Men in Black - without the Ray Bans - awaited him. "Professor Jones," he said with a bow, his English excellent. "Welcome back to Japan, sir. Please . . . "

He waved Indiana into the back seat of the vehicle, and then got into the driver's seat as soon as the archaeology professor was secured in his chair and buckled in. "Call us when you need us, sir," the senior airman said with a salute.

"I'll do that," Indiana promised. "Let's go," he said to the driver.

"Yes, sir."

The car went off. As the driver directed it towards the main gate at the east side of the base, which would lead onto a side street that would end at Prefecture Route 182 for the trip eastward to Tōkyō proper, he then said, also in English, "Professor, I bear messages from both the Emperor and the Prime Minister . . . "

"Excuse me, I do speak Japanese."

The driver perked. "And quite elegantly, I must confess, Jones-hakase. The messages from His Majesty and Kan-daijin are in the pocket right in front of you."

"Arigatō," Indiana said as he reached into the pocket to draw out two envelopes made with the finest paper possible, one bearing the wax _kamon_ of the Imperial Palace, the other the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan. Opening the first, he quickly scanned the note from Japan's head-of-state, written in the elegant style one would expect from the Son of Heaven. After taking in that note, he then secured it in his field bag as he read the note from the nation's head-of-government. Seeing what was there, he then shook his head. "Oh, my God . . .!" he breathed out in English.

"Is there something wrong, Jones-hakase?" the driver asked.

"Oh, it's the note from the Prime Minister," Indiana replied as he closed up the letter and moved to secure it in his field bag. "Jack Ryan arranged for all this? All I wanted to do is come here and meet my great-grandchildren!"

"Your great-grandchildren?" the driver gasped.

"Hai. I met their great-grandmother just before the war, when I was helping catalogue some Jōmon era finds with colleagues from Tōkyō and Keiō Universities. A beautiful woman, she was. Respectful of the old traditions yet willing and eager, in fact, to see how the knowledge of the West could help improve lives here in Japan." A smile as he recalled that innocent time. "I fell in love with her right then and there. Even visited a swordsmith to give her family a katana done in the Masamune style. It was meant to be a wedding gift; her family was descent of minor-ranked samurai from before the Restoration and I wanted to give them something to help restore their sense of their own past." A sigh. "Unfortunately, one night sometime before I had to head back to Connecticut, the sake ended up flowing a little too much . . . "

"I see," the driver said, immediately moving to intercede so that the professor didn't have to embarrass himself _too_ much. "What happened to her, if I may ask?"

Indiana closed his eyes. "She died in the air raid on the tenth of March in 1945," he whispered, shaking his head. "I didn't even learn I had a grandson until after the war, when I came back here with the occupation forces to help restore everything and get the country back on my feet." A smile. "A real cute boy, he was."

"Is he still alive, sir?"

A shake of the head. "No. He passed away shortly after his fortieth birthday." A pause, and then the professor's dark blue eyes narrowed. "And if I'm not too late, I might just be able to save his descendants from the same fate."

The driver tensed. "I understand, sir. Do you know where they live now?"

Indiana smirked. "My great-granddaughter lives in Taitō-ku. The Hayashi home near Ueno Park. But I need to stop somewhere first. At the Nekohanten restaurant in Nerima-ku, just south of the Ōizumi interchange. It's not too far from the Tendō dōjō, I believe. That's where my great-grandson's been living for the last year."

Silence.

"Jones-hakase . . .!" the driver gasped. "You mean to say . . .?"

A nod. "Hai, he's my great-grandson. But I need to see my great-granddaughter first since she's willing to _acknowledge_ our relationship. Unlike their mother."

The driver nodded. "I understand, sir. But why visit Elder Cologne first?"

"According to a friend of mine, there's a misunderstanding between my great-grandchildren and Kělún's great-granddaughter. I need to get that cleared up."

A nod. "Hai! I'll get you there right away, sir."

"Arigatō."

* * *

Adachi Ward (8 kilometres north of Taitō), near Azuma High School, that moment . . .

"Kanami-chan, o-ha!"

Kanami looked over, and then she held up her hand as two people in the pretty coral red tunics and red-brown skirts of one of the local high schools came up to her. As she slowed down to wait for Mihama Chiyo and Kasuga Ayumu to join her, the redhead could only smile at the sight of two of the few real friends she had, friends that weren't the least bit influenced by the mad idiocy that had haunted Ranma's life in Nerima. When the question of her continued schooling had come up, it had been a no-brainer to Kanami even if she lived quite a distance away from where Azuma High was located close to the ward offices north of the Arakawa River. Since said high school was just a drive up the Shōwa-dōri (which was also National Route 4), it was a simple bus trip from Ueno Station to the stop closest to the high school, then a five minute walk in. Since she was going against the movement of traffic to and from downtown Tōkyō depending on time of day, the average trip took fifteen minutes. Since it was a public high school, the entrance examination (which she had wrote two days after moving to Taitō) hadn't been a problem even with Kanami's haphazard educational history.

"Osu!" Kanami called back as the two other girls came up to her, her free hand immediately grasped by Chiyo as they headed down the street.

"Are you excited about your first day of classes, Kanami-san?" Chiyo asked.

A chuckle. "Well, I'll be happy to go to a school where I don't have to deal with a loon kendō-ka every morning wanting to date me," Kanami mused.

"Yeah, that would get kinda 'bleh' after a while," Ayumu noted.

Staring at the native of Wakayama - who had gone to elementary school in Kōbe and middle school in Ōsaka before moving to Tōkyō just before starting high school - Kanami could only grin as they headed down the street towards the school's front gate. If there was a woman who was as diametrically opposite from the martial artists Kanami had known back in Nerima, Kasuga Ayumu was that person. A girl who gladly described herself as both "spacey" and "slow," Ayumu had a vivid imagination, suffered from what appeared to be a bad case of narcolepsy and could concentrate on the oddest things yet totally forget everything else in the blink of an eye. Yet underneath it all, she was a really sweet girl who had thought that Ranma's Jusenkyō curse was "neat" - her exact words had been, "It lets you see what girls are _really_ like!" - and didn't seek to judge Ranma (and by extension Kanami) as others were so prone to do.

In total contrast, the young woman now holding Kanami's free hand was truly exceptional. So smart that she had been allowed to literally _skip_ five grades - moving from the fifth year of elementary school to the first year of high school the previous year - Mihama Chiyo was the lone child of a wealthy business family who had interacted with Kanami's grandparents from time to time. In fact, Chiyo's father Kenji - on hearing that Kanami was now living in Taitō - had actually volunteered to become her legal guardian, thus giving her another place to live in Adachi alongside his real daughter. It had been hard for Kanami to refuse that offer; she needed the chance to be truly on her own and she didn't want to crowd Chiyo in the long run. Besides, the young girl was practically Tendō Kasumi in miniature without the tragic undercurrent of a lost mother hanging over her heart. An exceptional cook, book-smart to a degree that outstripped anyone Kanami knew, kind, energetic and genki, Chiyo was truly one-of-a-kind. And Kanami didn't want to do anything to hurt her, even by living with her.

Soon enough, the gates of Azuma High appeared before them. Awaiting them was a very pretty woman in her mid-twenties, with long wavy brown hair and deep brown eyes, dressed in a pullover sweater and skirt, a small folder in hand as she glanced around. "Ah, Yukari-sensei!" Ayumu called out, waving to her homeroom teacher.

"Oh, Ōsaka! Chiyo-chan!" Tanizaki Yukari said as she waved back before she focused on the blue-eyed redhead holding the hand of the smartest student in her class. "And you must be Hayashi Kanami, right?" she asked as they stopped before her.

"Hai. And you're the infamous Tanizaki Yukari-sensei," Kanami said back with a grin and a sparkle in her eyes as she gazed in amusement at the older woman.

Yukari jolted. "'Infamous?'" she demanded before turning to glare at Ayumu. "Alright, Ōsaka! What the hell did you tell her?"

"The 'Yukari-mobile,'" Ayumu called out.

Instantly, Chiyo began to quake on remembering her first - and so far _only_ ride in that bashed-up Toyoda E120 Corolla - during the summer vacation of her first year at Azuma High. "Yukari-sensei, please stop . . . " she began to moan as her skin turned a very unhealthy shade of yellow. "Please stop . . . will you please . . . "

_POKE!_

"Eh?" Chiyo blinked before she stared up at Kanami. "Um . . .?"

"You were having a flashback," the redhead stated.

Hearing that, Chiyo blinked, and then she blushed. "I'm sorry . . . "

Yukari tried not to growl too much; so she wasn't the best driver in the world! Couldn't people just get over it finally? "C'mon, Kanami-chan," she then said. "I got you loaded into my class with these two! Let's show you the way!"

"Hai," Kanami said as they headed inside . . .

* * *

Nerima, the Nekohanten . . .

"Jones-dàshīfù! Please, come in! Come in!"

A nod. "Thank you, young man," Indiana stated in very literate if accented Mandarin as he walked through the main doors of the Nekohanten and moved to take a seat close to the cash register. "I trust Elder Kělún happens to be here today."

A deep bow. "Yes, she is. I'll have her come down right away."

"No need to, young man. How are you, Indy?"

Indiana laughed as Cologne hobbled over on her cane to accept his embrace. As Mousse quickly moved to prepare some tea, the Nǚjiézú elder then moved to sit across from the visiting American archaeologist. "I'm fine, thank you. Marion, Mutt and his family pass on their best wishes as well. I understand you're here because your great-granddaughter is currently trying to pursue my great-grandson in marriage."

_KK-KRACK!_

"What?" Cologne gasped, ignoring the fact that Mousse had accidentally crushed a tray he was going to use to carry the tea set over. "You're joking!"

"I honestly wish I wasn't. I know how important those laws are for your tribe and how they've protected you over the years," Indiana said with a kind smile in return. "I had three children, Kělún. All from three different women. My daughter Dana from my first wife Deirdre. My son Mutt - or Henry Jones III - from Marian. And another son through a woman named Saotome Miyami. His name was Saotome Ichirō."

"Illegitimate, I would assume."

A sad nod. "Sadly, yes. I had just separated from Marion just after that whole damned business with the Ark of the Covenant. I came here to Japan in '38 to help with Jōmon excavations; all the political nonsense that was going on between Japan and America at the time didn't really affect that. I met Miyami at the time when I was here and . . . " A shrug. "Well, I fell in love with her. I would've married her, but I got recalled back to Marshall. And - thought I didn't find out until after the war - I left her with a child. But I _did_ intend to marry her . . . "

"What happened to her?" Cologne asked.

"She was killed in '45; the big bombing raid in March that year. By then, Ichirō was five and his half-brother Isao was three; her parents forced her to get married to an Imperial Navy Air Service pilot who later died at Midway on the _Akagi_." A sigh. "It was Miyami's wish for Ichirō to be raised in America. But her parents intervened and accused me of raping her and leaving her in the lurch. Which . . . "

"A case of 'he said, she said.'"

A nod. "Yeah."

A shake of the head. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Indy. I would assume, therefore, that Ichirō is Nodoka's father, correct?"

Another nod. "Yes. And unfortunately - so friends of mine who've voluntarily kept an eye on the situation here have passed on to me - the whole family is in a case of mass denial over Ichirō's, Nodoka's and Ranma's relationship to me." Indiana then closed his eyes. "Some would say it's been killing them off slowly over the years."

Cologne perked. "How so?"

"Truthfully, I don't know. But usually between the fortieth and fiftieth birthdays, all members of the Saotome family from Miyami's parents onward have died under mysterious circumstances. They're normally at the pinnacle of health before it happens. Then something hits them and _poof_!" He made an explosive motion with his hands. "They're ashes in the family crypt. And no explanation as to why. The only person who seems to have avoided this is Nodoka's twin sister Hisayo, who does know of me and keeps in contact with me, as do her daughters, Rikako and Seiko."

She took a moment to consider that as Mousse finally came up with a tea tray and service to prepare something for them both. Once that was done, the weapons-master was quick to withdraw from the room. Finally, Cologne took a deep draw on her pipe. "It is a mystery, indeed. I would have to examine Ranma's mother - if she would allow me to do this - to see what might be happening with her. Much that there is a lot about that girl that worries me, especially when it comes to her son, she does seem a pretty decent sort of woman in the long run. Why she married a waste of a man like Genma, I'll never understand. It's a miracle that Ranma's turned out so good in the long run; you'll remember what Happy was like." At her visitor's nod, she sighed. "So you're here to see both your great-grandchildren, I believe. Kanami first, then Ranma?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "She told me about how she got separated from him because of this incense burner. I would assume that was something Happōsai took from your tribe?" At her nod, he smirked. "Well, he didn't get anything out of that!"

"Indeed. I take it you know who else is in country?"

He perked. "Who?"

"Dean Raeburn."

Silence.

"What's she doing here?" Indiana asked.

"I don't know. From what we do know, she went to visit your great-granddaughter right after an audience with Emperor Akihito. As to the why, I can't speculate."

Cologne then sighed as she reflected on the several times members of the Nǚjiézú had encountered Earth's Jewel Warrior, the so-called "Protector of All Life." As the current leader of the School of the Star of Heaven - having inherited her knowledge ultimately when the Immortal Master ended his life and allowed that knowledge to be copied right into her mind back in 1937 - she was quite the martial artist in her own way, though she was also immersed in more modern weapons such as the M-34 Clarkson slide-piston semi-automatic revolvers she had been given as a pilot in the Canadian air cavalry. Of course, given that Jewel Warriors were always women - per the Third Qualification that governed the use of those objects, where a potential Host must be "a bearer of life" - the Nǚjiézú viewed them as spiritual kindred and Dean herself had been welcomed (as Indiana had been years before) as an ally of the tribe during the heady years of the Cultural Revolution. Like the American archaeologist before her when it came to Japanese agents who had wanted to seize the tribe's secrets, the Canadian air cavalry pilot had been granted such status thanks to her saving Nǚjiézú treasures from destruction; a sympathetic ally of Dèng Xiǎopíng's who worked for the government of Qūmálái County got a message to Dean through a trade mission the People's Republic had in Japan before the Red Guards attacked the village. Fortunately for those foolish college students who had tried to storm the village in 1968, 1969 and 1970, none of them were killed; Dean had snuck into their camps while they were asleep, knocked them out using pressure points and transported them overnight to a scenic park overlooking a lake in nearby Sìchuān province. Cologne's friends on the village council had a more vicious fate in mind for those hooligans: the pools of Jusenkyō.

"Could she be thinking of making Kanami a Jewel Warrior?" she then wondered.

Hearing that, Mousse nearly turned sheet white in horror at the idea of Ranma's "sister" suddenly acquiring _that_ power. "Would she be seen as worthy?" Indiana asked.

"Possibly, though the First Qualification might be problem now that you're in her life. I'm not too sure when it comes to parental relatives beyond the mother and father," she noted. "Maybe you should speak to Dean about it first."

A nod. "I think I will."

"Good. Mùsī?"

Mousse tensed. "Yes, Elder?"

"Go get Shānpú. We need to have a talk about this matter concerning Master Jones' great-granddaughter and the _proper_ application of the Kiss of Death."

He nodded. "Yes, Elder. Right away."

* * *

Taitō Ward, the Hayashi home . . .

"So she qualifies."

Sitting in the living room, Dean Raeburn remained silent as she gazed on the necklace with its mixed-meson lens jewel on the coffee table before her. When she had been asleep, Dean had snuck into Kanami's bedroom and placed on her body a Jewel she had obtained from a storehouse of unaligned devices located in a pocket dimension known as "Sanctuary" that Jewel Warriors such as herself could access when required. Though - as she was the Host of the Keystone Jewel - Dean had been able to stop this Jewel from bonding then with the young girl as its new Host, she had confirmed Kanami _had_ been seen as worthy for all three Qualifications to become a new Jewel Warrior, which would then be allowed to act as a sort of "stand-in" for the major when she was off-world.

Fortunately, Kanami's relationship with Indiana Jones wouldn't be a problem. When the Seekers had made the Power Jewels all those billions of years ago and stipulated the Three Qualifications to mark a person as worthy to be a Jewel's Host, they had declared that being made an "orphan" meant losing (by whatever means possible) the immediate previous generation of parents. Grandparents and those generations beforehand didn't matter; as the Seekers themselves were immortal and literally omnipotent, there were no cases amongst their kind where an orphaned child had to be raised by grandparents or earlier generations. So even if Indiana was going to re-forge some links with his Japanese relations, it wouldn't matter in that regard.

Even more so, when it came to the First Qualification, the fact that Kanami had a "brother" in Saotome Ranma didn't matter at all. Which was good; even if there were potential problems considering the way Hayashi Kanami had come into the world - especially when one factored in the few _known_ ways that a curse from Zhòuquán-xiāng could be removed from a victim - it was clearly obvious that Dean's new apprentice didn't want anything to do with her immediate blood-relatives anymore. Her father was a misogynist idiot who was still too scared of Happōsai to see that - as a master of his own version of Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū - he could make his own rules as he went. The mother was an ultra-traditionalist who would - so Kanami feared - make her into a freaky "woman above women" that would be totally opposite of what Kanami herself wanted to become even if she still harboured a hope deep down of being restored to manhood (which, Dean had warned her right away, could not happen as the curses of Zhòuquán-xiāng simply didn't _work_ that way). And the son, though he had his many good points, was a man driven by a wild fear of failing in the one thing that had dominated his life for over a decade, which created a massive case of over-confidence that - if it was hit the right way - would destroy him. And there was Tendō Akane as well.

So Kanami COULD become a Jewel Warrior . . .

_That would make a lot of people in this country _very_ happy_, Dean mused as she moved to drink a cup of coffee she had obtained from a shop in the nearby Ameyoko Arcade; much that she didn't mind having tea when it was offered, the child of the Victorian Age had matured in the wilds of the Canadian Prairies and the Yukon, so she was more used to drinking coffee over the more "civilised" hot drink. Gazing once more on the Jewel that she had obtained for Kanami - it was one of several that had been brought in from Sanctuary some years before and put into secure storage at the Raeburn home north of the hamlet of Clayhurst near the border with Alberta - she then closed her eyes as she recalled what the current metahuman situation was in Japan.

At present, there was one state-sanctioned team of superheroes in the country. Designated "Big Hero Six," it was currently led by a former freelance mercenary and associate to the current leader of Hydra: Harada Kenuichio a.k.a. the Silver Samurai. The illegitimate son of a former Yakuza boss, Harada had a chequered history thanks to his past affiliations with Madame Hydra (a.k.a. Viper), not to mention a few other criminals and terrorists, but he was still governed by his own sense of bushidō. And he was the half-brother to the late fiancée of an acquaintance of Dean's from the latter part of the nineteenth century and the Canadian prairies, James Howlett a.k.a. Wolverine. Harada also was a cousin to Yoshida Shirō, a.k.a. Sunfire, one of Japan's more prominent independent heroes and a former X-Man who once worked with Howlett.

Another team was Big Science Action, formed with the help of a former member of the Global Guardians, Yasunari Izumi, a.k.a. Rising Sun. In that group, he had been joined by Satō Taeko (a.k.a. Sunburst), a stuntman with solar energy projection powers who was one of the most arrogant people ever to put on spandex; the man actually walked around with his own media entourage and even had a manga series made after him. Branching off from that group was a pack of youngsters actually calling themselves the "Super Young Team"; thinking on _that_ name, Dean had to shake her head at the rather unimaginative monikers people came up with when it came to battle and group names. At least group names like the "Justice League," the "Justice Society," the "Avengers" and the "Defenders" had some panache behind them. But "Super Young Team" . . .?

Shaking her head, Dean then remembered there were two independent superheroines who could be used to give a more female perspective to Kanami if she accepted becoming a mystery woman (Dean was used to the older term applied to metahuman vigilantes). One was Professor Hoshi Kimiyo, a.k.a. the second Doctor Light. A scientist and doctor, she was often seen as very arrogant though she was quite powerful in her own right. More to Dean's personal style and training was one Yamashiro Tatsu, a.k.a. Katana. A former working ally of the Batman in the original Outsiders, Tatsu had moved to America and become the legal guardian of an amnesiac young woman named Gabrielle Doe (born Violet Harper), who bonded with one of the first sentient races of the known Universe to become the superheroine known as "Halo." Both were still in America, but could be enticed back to Japan since the man who murdered Tatsu's husband - her very own brother-in-law, in fact! - had fallen dead at her hand while she and Gabrielle worked with Bruce Wayne during his brief time away from the Justice League.

And then . . .

Dean then smirked. Why not keep this _totally_ in-house?

That meant finding out who was the current host of the _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_.

Shouldn't be _too_ hard . . .

* * *

Azuma High School, after lunch . . .

"So you'd be willing to come to the summer house for summer vacation?"

"Well, I'll try," Kanami stated as she and the others of the so-called "Gang of Six" - with a couple of friends - in Class 2-3 relaxed on the school roof enjoying their box lunches. "But it depends on my new sensei. She wants to give me the chance to do some intensive training before I could be properly rated in the Tensei-ryū."

"Wouldn't you former standing in Musabetsu Kakutō be a problem?" Mizuhara Koyomi then asked before taking the piece of spicy beef into her mouth and munching on it.

"Technically, I don't have any standing in that art, Yomi," Kanami responded. "Since Jijii doesn't care to have female students and Oyaji wouldn't acknowledge me as his student like he does Ranma, I can start totally afresh. Even make use of the Sen-ken forms since they're not an acknowledged element of the Saotome-ryū. Since Ranma never asked _me_ to seal my knowledge in the Yamasen-ken, I can bring that knowledge into my own studies. And neither he nor Oyaji ever said anything about the Umisen-ken. So I can do whatever I want now that I'm seen as a student of the Tensei-ryū."

"Couldn't they try to challenge you for that in the future?" Chiyo asked.

"They could, but I doubt I'll be seeing either of them for quite some time to come," Kanami stated. "My lawyer really went to town on all of them. And he told me that I had the right to pull Ranma out of the Saotome family if I wanted to do that. I won't 'cause I know he's pretty much comfortable as is right now, but it's there and both Oyaji and Ofukuro know it. Atop that, there is my relationship with Hiijii-chan."

"That would be so _awesome_!" Aida Kaori breathed out. "To actually meet _Indiana Jones_ himself!" She then leaned over the blanket where everyone's lunches were spread out to gaze intently at the newest member of Class 2-3. "Ne, Kanami-san! Do you think you could actually ask Jones-hakase to come visit the school if he came to Japan?"

"Well, I could," Kanami affirmed with a nod.

"Will he come soon?" Sakaki Kiyomi, the tallest of the group and a self-professed ailurophile - though, for some weird reason, cats never really got along with her in return, much to Kanami's surprise - asked as she gazed on the redhead.

"He said he'd try to get over sometime in the next week or so . . . "

Kanami then paused before sighing, and then she gazed skyward. "What?" Kagura Michiko, Kiyomi's self-professed "rival" in physical education, then asked.

Kanami then held out her hand . . .

. . . just as a moaning young man their age landed in the palm of her hand head-first. As all the girls cried out in shock on seeing him, Kanami looked up, quickly noting the growing bruise on one of the boy's cheeks. "Shinobu?" she asked.

"Y-yeah . . . " the boy then groaned before noting the others sitting around her friend. "Oh, Ayumu-chan! Ladies! Hi!" he then said as he gave the former Ōsaka native a wave and a lanky smile. "Having lunch with the others right now?"

"Yeah, Ataru-kun!" Ayumu said with a smile.

The others all stared at her. "Um, Ōsaka, who's this?" Takino Tomo then asked.

"Oh, this is Moroboshi Ataru," Ayumu replied. "He's a friend of Ranma-kun's and Kanami-chan's from Tomobiki in Nishitōkyō. He always gets beat up by this really mean girl named Miyake Shinobu who thinks she's his girlfriend and all that . . . "

"She can't stand the fact that I don't wanna settle down . . . ugh! Dōmo, Kanami-chan!" Ataru moaned as Kanami helped him to his feet, and then sat him down beside her. "I was just taken aback by the new health teacher . . . "

"A cute health teacher, Ataru-kun?"

He chuckled as everyone turned to see Tanizaki Yukari standing there, alongside her best friend, the school's physical education teacher and Michiko's former homeroom teacher from first year, Kurosawa Minamo. "Well, nowhere close to either yourself or Nyamo-sensei, Yukari-chan, but quite exceptional in her own right!"

"Flatterer!" Yukari said as Nyamo laughed.

"You know Ataru-kun, Sensei?" Ayumu asked.

"Yeah! He got bashed this way during my first year as a teacher here and nearly trashed my car with his head!" Yukari said as she moved to sit with the others. "It's a wonder to me why he didn't get permanent brain damage because of that!"

"So THAT'S where the big dent in the roof came from!" Tomo said with a laugh, ignoring Chiyo's shivers on hearing yet again about the Yukari-mobile . . .

* * *

Tomobiki High School, that moment . . .

_KK-KRACK!_

Hearing that noise, Miyake Shinobu turned towards the school building . . .

. . . and then she winced as a horrible series of breaking sounds echoed from the direction of the clock tower indicating that somehow, the school's bells had become dislodged from the supporting beams in the belfry and were now crashing to the main foyer. She then winced again on hearing screams from inside the school.

"Um, Shinobu-chan?"

"H-hai?" Shinobu sputtered as she gazed on a classmate, Marubeya Momoe.

"I don't think you hit Ataru-kun into the tower."

Shinobu blinked as she looked back at the school building as a cloud of smoke and debris escaped the open front doors while teachers scrambled about . . .

* * *

Taitō Ward, the Hayashi home . . .

"Well, I'll be damned . . . "

Chuckling, Dean got up and moved to clean up the coffee . . .

* * *

Azuma High . . .

"Eh? You got a new sensei right away?"

Kanami nodded. "Yeah! She's actually the former student of the founder of the Tensei-ryū himself. He was the one who gave Jijii his license."

Hearing that, Ataru jolted before he gaped. "You mean Raeburn-shōsa?"

She looked back at him. "You know her?"

"Well, y-yeah . . . " he sputtered before a confused look then crossed his face. "Funny . . . how the hell DID I know that? You didn't tell me about that . . . "

"Maybe Ranma-kun did," Ayumu offered.

He blinked, and then shook his head. "I don't remember that."

"Have you seen Ranma ever since we got split apart?" Kanami asked.

Another shake of the head. "No . . . "

"Ah! Game-winning home run!"

Eyes locked on Ayumu. "What, Ōsaka?" Tomo asked.

Ayumu pointed at Ataru. "You're possessed by a ghost!"

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"Ōsaka!" Yomi snapped. "Be serious for once!"

"Actually, miss, that's not too far from the truth."

Everyone spun around . . .

. . . and then gasped on seeing the woman in the martial arts gi-like uniform - though it was coloured in soft greens with gold trimming, the images of heraldic lions, white-tailed deer, pegasi and wheat garbs on a prairie field scene - sitting on the safety rails overlooking the school's front yard. Tack that onto the gun belt with the revolvers on both her hips and the long katana-like weapon slung in the same over-the-shoulder style that ninja normally carried their own personal versions of a samurai's main weapon, a shinobigatana, it made quite a unique scene. "Um, Sensei, what are you doing here?" Kanami asked as the others all gaped at the newcomer.

Dean smirked as she got to her feet and walked over to kneel behind both her and Ataru. "Well, I was debating on how I would get you up to snuff when it comes to training when I sensed your friend come into close range . . . "

With that, she tapped a point on the back of Ataru's head.

" . . . so I decided to ask for her help."

"Gee, Ataru-kun, why is your skin so white now?"

Eyes locked on the lone man in the crowd.

"_ACTUALLY, AYUMU, IT IS BECAUSE HE IS NOT ALONE IN THIS BODY_."

Dean sighed. "Negako . . .!"

"_**YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! IT'S A GHOST!**_" Chiyo then screamed out.

As the others - save Ayumu and Kanami - all began to panic, the now-possessed Moroboshi Ataru took a deep breath before bellowing out, "_**BE SILENT!**_"

Total silence answered him/her.

S/he then turned to gaze on the visiting Canadian. "_Sometimes, it simply cannot be avoided, Deannette_," s/he stated with a strange, almost female lilt to her voice despite its mostly dirge-like quality. "_Still, it is agreeable to see you again_."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"Um . . . Sensei, who's this?" Kanami asked.

Dean smiled at her. "Well, if you wish to get technical, I'd like you to meet the living spirit of one of the daughter-schools of the Tensei-ryū, Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū. Everyone tends to call her simply the _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_ for convenience's sake, but when they first met her back in the 1920s, one of the Steel Angels gave her the name 'Negako.' So - once we finally get a body she can use on her own - we could realistically call her 'Moroboshi Negako.'" She then turned to gaze on the possessed Ataru. "So how long have you been inside his head? And how many does it make now?"

"_Since he was six. And he is my fifty-seventh host since I finally became self-aware in the fifth year of Bunka_," Ataru/Negako answered as s/he gazed on one of his/her few friends that s/he acquired in the over two centuries of his/her existence. "_So why would you be interested in one of Happy's potential students?_"

"Something the Emperor asked me to do."

"_Ah, I comprehend_."

The others watching this all blinked . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_


	3. Chapter 3

Nerima, the Nekohanten . . .

"Are you alright, Kělún?"

Shampoo and Mousse were both comforting a dazed Cologne. "Oh, my . . . " the Nǚjiézú elder breathed out, shaking her head to clear her mind from the tidal wave of dark ki that had just radiated from the east. "I haven't felt that since . . . "

"Since when?" Indiana, who was holding a cup of tea for her, asked.

Another shake of the head. "Since the 1920s, when I was last in Japan during the time the Steel Angels were up and about," Cologne confessed. "I had been asked by the government of President Sūn to accompany the Ladies Sùshuāng and Qīngniǎo to the so-called 'Steel Angel Wars' organized by Professor Ayanokōji in his capacity as the leader of the Academy of Advanced Sciences. I remember encountering a man who was observing the battles between our delegation and the Japanese delegation under the Lady Aoi. The most frightful creature you ever could meet. Pale - almost white skin - with some sort of tiger-striping on the surface that I don't think was a tattoo . . . "

"I may know what that is."

Eyes locked on the American in the room. "Who, Master Jones?" Shampoo asked.

"A being called the _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_. In your language, _Zuìg__āo Rénshēng_." As the two younger Nǚjiézú both gasped and Cologne's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, Indiana added, "From what I've heard of this thing, it might actually be our planet's first true artificial intelligence. I only know of it from rumours I picked up from martial arts masters and shrine priests on various visits to Japan over the years; that's where you all heard of this thing too, right?" As his hosts nodded, he then said, "A being supposedly created in part by Master Hosan a thousand years ago as a sort of mental storage database of fighting knowledge that somehow became a living being back in the early 1800s . . . " He paused before sighing. "If it's all true, it _would_ be known to Dean. I recall her mentioning to me about something concerning a 'bodiless warrior' that ultimately had to be used to put down the militarists who refused to accept the call of surrender the Shōwa Emperor made in the summer of '45."

"But why would Dean unleash such a being now?" Cologne asked.

"To help train my great-granddaughter, I believe."

The Nǚjiézú elder considered that, and then nodded in understanding . . .

* * *

The Tendō dōjō, that moment . . .

"You're free . . . "

Seated in the middle of the seldom-used training hall, Happōsai was trying to fight back his tears as he concentrated on mastering his own wildly-rampant ki and get control over himself, something that had become almost impossible for him to do in recent decades. But much that he was becoming more inclined day after day to simply give up and give in to his own personal lusts and desires, he still tried. What he had created over the years depended on a strong master to ensure it would be passed on to the next generations. He couldn't hope for his school, Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū, to live on if he didn't take the time NOW to prepare a proper and worthy successor.

Who now he saw in the person of Genma's son Ranma.

And the boy had unbounded potential. He lived, breathed, ate and slept the Art every second of his life. Even if he had suffered for it - especially when Genma forced him to endure the Cat Fist training, not to mention the whole matter with Jusenkyō - Ranma had improved himself by leaps and bounds ever since he had left the cradle of his parents' home with his father for their decade-long training trip. Even now that he was living practically full-time at the Saotome home - which wasn't too far from the Tendō home, easy for both him and Akane to travel every day after school so they could take supper with her family here - Ranma still worked to improve his Art, taking challenges from all comers and even going forth to help tutor Akane as she strove to improve herself and be a worthy wife to him. And while both Sōun and Genma complained that Akane was certainly not fit to be a martial artist and Nodoka would prefer her future daughter-in-law to be a proper lady - _A lady of what? With the way that stupid woman thinks, poor Akane-chan is only fit to be part of her 'manly' son's own harem of concubines so she can finally get some grandbabies to spoil because she missed out on so much of Ranma's upbringing!_ the aged grandmaster fumed - Akane was giving in to her own drive to learn, now that she didn't really have to worry about rivals like Kuonji Ukyō, Nǚ Shānpú and Kunō Kodachi from getting in the way; Nodoka had firmly put her foot down when it came to unwelcome visits and vowed that if such kept up, whatever honour claims the woman had on Ranma would be renounced forever. Give her time and constant practice, Akane could easily become Ranma's true equal in the Art.

Deep down, Happōsai hoped she would eventually seize it.

_That means I have to make sure that there's no serious threat against either of them_, he mentally noted as the image of a pretty redhead flashed in his mind. _Much that it personally hurt me to drive you away, Kanami-chan, it was for the best. You still love Akane-chan - not that I don't blame you, given how much your other-self loves her - and your resentment at how your father and 'uncle' treated you after you were born was growing to the point where you would become a very serious threat to the Art's future. No matter how much you were hurt by it, I just couldn't have that!_

Still, Kanami was fortunate. While Happōsai had been surprised by the stunning swiftness of the intervention of the Imperial Throne when it came to Ranma's sister - and quite shocked that they turned to _**Major Raeburn**_ to become Kanami's new master - it was ultimately for the best. Kanami, who was as skilled and as knowledgeable as her brother, could have made as worthy of an heir to the grandmaster-ship of Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū as Ranma. _If I wasn't cursed like I was, I might have actually made her my heir as much as her brother was; the competition between the two would have done the Art even greater favours in the long term_, he cursed to himself, shaking his head.

And now, Kanami was in the hands of Dean Raeburn of all people. Remembering the investor's daughter-turned-air cavalry pilot and metahuman specialised warfare officer, Happōsai tried not to grin too much. She had been quite the Rock of Gibraltar when it came to him and his need to absorb female ki to stay alive. During her time studying with Hosan Hirosuke in the 1920s and 1930s - around the same time Happōsai had gone to Watari-shima to finally get his mastery in the Tensei-ryū, thus allowing him to go forth and properly establish Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū as its own separate school - she had been the _only_ person the aged grandmaster simply just _couldn't_ touch, much less try to steal lingerie from. Try as he might to get past her guard, he ultimately couldn't do it; she would always intercept him with a bokken or another handy object to keep her skin clear of his touch, then bash him away when he got too rough.

Only when World War Two had come along and he learned of the War Hawks - the 1st Canadian Specialised Warfare Unit that Dean had established with three other metahumans to serve as a special strike group that became a nightmare for Axis metas to deal with - did Happōsai learn of Dean's secret: the Power Jewel. The little alien necklace, which was over _**three billion years old**_, having been deposited on Earth well before the first complex life forms had arisen there, had slowly drawn in life energy from the surrounding planet and accumulated it to a degree that by the time Dean herself bonded with the device in the 1890s, she was gifted the equivalent power of a major _**god!**_ And she put that power to use, especially after 1941 and the War Hawks' formation, normally in defence of Axis metahuman raids on North America, but also gladly striking deep into the heart of Nazi Germany to deal with beings that were truly beyond the scope of nightmares of the most prolific of modern-day horror writers.

And while it annoyed him at a professional level that Dean had such a weapon at her beck and call - a weapon that couldn't be realistically used against her as Power Jewels were only meant for women - Happōsai couldn't begrudge her such an advantage, especially after he had learned about beings like the Übermenschen, the War Hawks' direct opposite numbers serving the Nazis during World War Two. While he hadn't killed a single woman due to his ki-absorption powers, the potential to do that was there and Dean - especially after Master Hosan had died and she became the Grandmaster of the Tensei - was a particularly large source of ki energy for him to tap into. Atop that, she was a skilled fighter - and kept up her skills even given the potential strength she could use thanks to the Jewel, which would make her a living nightmare for beings at the same power levels as Superman, Captain Marvel and the Incredible Hulk - though she had spent the majority of the past sixty years off-planet, mostly training other Jewel Warriors, females just like her so they could stand as their own homeworlds' local "protectors of all life" against all sorts of threats both large and small.

And now she may do the same thing with Hayashi Kanami . . .

Happōsai sighed. He personally would understand if Kanami said "yes" in case Dean gave her _that_ offer; the major had confessed to Master Hosan back in the early 1930s that there were spare Power Jewels available that hadn't been bound to a specific life-bearing world which could be used by others standing in her place. She had been effectively abandoned by her family. Thanks to Genma's harsh training when it came to his son, she certainly had endured emotional and physical abuse in growing up. And she was a woman thanks to Jusenkyō and the incense burner Genma and Sôun used to free her "brother" of his Nyanniichuan curse. With that, plus whatever additional training Dean - and the _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_ as well, Happōsai reminded himself - gave her, Kanami would achieve a level of fighting competence that Ranma would NEVER be able to equal.

Wait . . .

The aged grandmaster's eyes then narrowed.

There was something he could do . . .

* * *

Taitō, the Hayashi home, after school . . .

"So even if Kanami-san's free of her curse, if she becomes a Jewel Warrior, there's a strong possibility that Ranma-san would be cursed again, right?"

"_That is correct, Chiyo_," Ataru/Negako stated as s/he continued to probe Kanami's meridians with his/her fingertips. "_The standard cure for a curse acquired at Zhòuquán-xi__āng - 'Jusenkyō__' as you would address it here in Japan - is to father or mother children, thus completing the cycle of death-to-life the springs actually represent._" S/he made a circle with one hand to demonstrate her/his point. "_All life works on a pattern. Birth, adolescence, maturity, seniority and death, thus allowing new life to take its place. Zhòuquán-__xiāng follows this same pattern. Remember, the spring Ranma fell into to ultimately create Kanami is known as the 'Ni__ángnìquán.' The Spring of Drowned Young Lady. Someone died in that spring fifteen centuries ago, so Ranma - and now Kanami - is haunted by the aura of death. To remove the aura, one simply must engage in the act of procreation to bring new life to the world._"

"What would have happened if Ranma-kun and Kanami-chan _weren't_ split apart in the first place, Negako?" Tanizaki Yukari then asked. She and Kurosawa Minamo had come down with the Gang of Six and their new friends to the Hayashi home so they could witness what the possessed Tomobiki High sophomore would do to their friend.

"_Given Ranma's current relationship with Tend__ō__ Akane, Yukari, once he finally impregnated her and she became pregnant with his children, the curse's transformation effect would wear off and he would remain as a man for the remainder of his life_," Ataru/Negako answered. "_As the curse came from the Niángnìquán, one of the children - any children born of a parent cursed by Zhòuquán-xi__āng are always a set of twins - would eventually develop into what Kanami appears like at this time_."

The others all nodded. "That's what you mean by the possibility of Ranma-kun _not_ being affected if Kanami takes up a Power Jewel," Mizuhara Koyomi noted.

"_Yes, that is one possibility, Koyomi_."

"But what about those people who have animal curses?" Sakaki Kiyomi asked.

"_They will not become 'therianthropes,'_" s/he answered. "_Not in the same manner the __Màshǐké go forth and seek potential female mates by finding strong animals, dipping them into the Niángn__ìquán and then locking their transformation into place with the use of the Zhǐshuǐtǒng._" As the others in the room all gaped at him/her, s/he added, "_No, those with animal-transformation curses would give birth to children who would acquire the most positive behavioural attribute the parent's alter-ego possessed. In the matter of Hibiki Ry__ō__ga, his son could become obsessed with neatness. Nǚ__ Shānp__ú's daughter would possess great balancing and acrobatic skills. Liào Mùs__ī's son would have the potential to become a champion swimmer_." The others in the room didn't notice the slight shiver that ran through the possessed teen's body on his/her mentioning that. "_As for Saotome Genma's future son - should he desire it - . . . _"

Takino Tomo laughed. "He'd be even lazier than his father!"

"_Indeed_." And with that, Ataru/Negako pressed a point at the back of Kanami's head. "_There you are, Kanami_," s/he stated as the redhead's eyes slowly opened. "_The treatment was quite successful, but you will have to endure additional treatments over the following several days to ensure whatever potential weakness Happy's incense burner could unleash on you are negated. Deannette has yet to return . . . _"

"I'm back!"

The possessed teen lightly smiled. "_Correction. She has returned_."

Everyone then jolted on hearing a heavy _thump!_ echo through the house, the floorboards quaking slightly as something massive was placed down somewhere in the living room. "What the hell is that?" Kanami asked as she picked herself up, slipping on her muscle shirt - she had been topless while undergoing treatment from her possessed friend from Tomobiki - and then she got up to go take a look.

The others followed her out of the bedroom into the living room, where Dean Raeburn now stood beside a tube somewhat larger than the average coffin, cylindrical and currently filled with a reddish-brown fluid. Contained within the tube was a quasi-humanoid being, clearly female though lacking anything like hair or the like, wearing a skin-tight black suit that went up to her neck, covering everything save hands and head. Said tube was a part of a storage unit with portable power generators and control mechanisms located at the 'foot' of the tube. A quick glance to the control panel revealed that something was turned on, though the language that was used to mark the controls was a strange alien scribble looking akin to a mixture of kanji and Korean han'gŭl. As the others all gathered around the alien device, Chiyo looked inside to gaze on the sleeping - was she sleeping? - figure inside. "What is this, Raeburn-shōsa?" the young prodigy asked as she looked up at the Canadian air cavalry officer.

"A bioroid, believe it or not," Dean answered.

The others all blinked. "You mean like in _Appleseed_?" Yukari asked.

"With some differences," Dean stated. "According to the Jewel Warrior on a planet locally called 'Phentax Five,' this being is fully organic and very close to Earth-standard humanoid, but also possesses considerable psionic potential as well."

"_Yes, I can sense that_," Ataru/Negako stated as s/he peered at the being with his/her own metasenses. "_Though I doubt this, as is, is considered complete_."

"No. It requires a blood sample - if you want, from your current host - that will allow the DNA inside the body to totally rebuild itself into a 'sister' for Ataru. Even more so, the body could be adjusted age-wise to make someone from as young as six to as old as twenty-five years old, Earth equivalent." Dean gazed at the possessed teen. "You told me that Ataru's parents aren't the nicest sort when it comes to him because of his dead twin brother; his body disappeared just after he passed away in the hospital and no one had any idea what happened to it." As Ataru/Negako nodded, the Canadian smirked. "Well, if you want, once we get your soul inside your new body, I can talk to the Emperor and see to it you're given citizenship status as an adult. Once you do that, you can make Ataru's parents give up their rights towards him . . . "

"And he can come to our school instead!"

Eyes locked on Kasuga Ayumu. "_Would you desire that, Ayumu?_" Ataru/Negako asked. "_I am aware of the fact that Ataru does consider you quite pretty._"

Instantly, the former Ōsaka native began to blush. "Aw, isn't that cute, Kagura?" Tomo said as she grinned at Kagura Michiko. "Ōsaka's got a boyfriend!"

"You guys!" Chiyo screamed out.

The others laughed as Ayumu simply smiled, her cheeks as red as cherries . . .

* * *

Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, that moment . . .

_KK-KRACK!_

A shocked gasp escaped both Moroboshi Kinshō and Miyake Shinobu as they watched the small kamidana in the kitchen crash to the floor. Silence then fell as both gazed on the wrecked mini-chapel, and then they exchanged confused looks . . .

* * *

Taitō, the Hayashi home, sometime later . . .

"Wh-where am I . . .?"

"Ataru-san, are you alright?"

Brown eyes fluttered open as Moroboshi Ataru found himself gazing at an unfamiliar ceiling. A second later, an image that was utterly too cute for words then appeared in his field of vision. He blinked, and then sighed. "Chiyo-chan . . . "

"Are you alright?" the younger girl asked.

A moan. "Felt like someone tapped the Charleston inside my . . . "

His voice then trailed off as a torrent of memories then began pouring into his head, his eyes going VERY wide as experiences that he hadn't known he had endured played back with the relentless force of a tidal wave inside his head. Chiyo's breath caught in her throat as she watched this happen, and then - almost at the point where the older man looked ready to pass out from the shock, which would have made the young prodigy scream out in fright - Ataru seemed to relax before a moan escaped him.

"The Promise . . .!" he breathed out. "What happened . . .?"

"It has been fulfilled, Ataru," a strange and cold yet comforting voice then echoed from nearby as his ears picked up footfalls. "Two hundred-and-two years after I became sentient, I have achieved what I desired. And you survived to see it happen."

He turned . . . and then gaped on seeing an older female version of _himself_ - albeit with a much fuller and more stylised head of brown hair than the shaggy mess he normally possessed - came into view, dressed now in a plain black martial arts uniform with a black belt wrapped around her waist, the flapping ends of the belt touched with the gold kanji _**chi**_ for Earth. In her hands was a tray with a tea service on it. Setting that aside as she knelt beside him, she then helped him sit up before she moved to prepare the tea. "Drink it all down," she then stated before handing the cup to him. "Your body endured the removal of my soul from your mind, but you will need to take time to recover from what has happened. Sip it slowly and ignore the taste if you can; it is somewhat bitter, but it will have to do for the time being."

He slowly nodded before sipping the tea, immediately making a face as the horrid taste swamped his tongue. "Damn! Can't you do something about this . . .?"

"Unfortunately, for the first while, I cannot," Negako stated as she proceeded to press several points on the back of Ataru's neck and head, forcing ki into his body. "Your cerebral tissue requires the nutrients in the tea to help heal it from the damage carrying two souls within it for ten years has unleashed. Chiyo will prepare a full meal for you in an hour to allow you to wash the tea's aftertaste down, but you must have the tea if you do not wish to endure any sort of permanent neurological damage."

Ataru took that in, and then he nodded before taking a deep breath and then sipping the tea once more. This time, he didn't visibly react as such. By then, Dean had walked into the room to kneel beside Chiyo. "How's he coming?" the Canadian asked.

"During the decade we shared one cerebrum, I did everything I could to ensure Ataru will be able to withstand levels of damage that would even incapacitate people such as Steven Rogers, Bruce Wayne and James Howlett," Negako stated. At Chiyo's confused look, the spiritual grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū added, "I mean Captain America, the Batman and Wolverine, Chiyo. Those are their birth names."

Silence.

"EH?" Chiyo gasped, and then she breathed out. "Sugoi! How did you know that? Did you tell her, Raeburn-shōsa?" she then asked Dean.

"No, that's just the way Negako is," Dean stated. "But you have to keep in mind one thing, young lady: You must NEVER speak of Bruce's alter ego to ANYONE, alright!"

A rapid nod. "HAI!"

"Good girl. Now, with Steve and Jim, it's not so bad; Steve's always been public about his identity and Jim pretty much lives these days under the name 'Logan,' which is what he pretty much began using before the Great War. Bruce, on the other hand, uses his civilian I.D. as a sort of 'mask' so he can do his work as Batman in protecting Gotham. You _have_ heard of all the Rogues he has to deal with."

Another rapid nod. "H-h-hai . . . " Chiyo sputtered.

"You want to deal with someone like the Riddler or Killer Croc?"

A rapid shake of the head. "N-n-no . . . "

"Then you'll keep quiet about this, won't you?"

"Hai!"

"Isn't the Joker more dangerous?" Ataru then asked before sipping his tea.

"In many ways, yes. However, concerning this particular situation, no. John would not desire to have Bruce's identity publicly revealed."

Eyes locked on Negako. "Is that his name?" Dean asked.

"Yes. He was born John Napier, though he normally allowed people to address him as 'Jack' in lieu of 'John.' Due to the considerable level of psychological damage he endured when he fell into the pit of chemicals that bleached his skin to the shade it currently possesses, he has very much forgotten his past life as John Napier, much less his late wife Jeannette and unborn son, who died sometime before his accident."

Chiyo blinked; almost everyone on Earth who had links to public media had heard of the Clown Prince of Crime, the chief arch-nemesis of the Dark Knight of Gotham City. "That poor man," she then sobbed as her eyes instantly teared up.

"Yeah, but there's little that can be done for the guy," Dean noted as she gave the young girl a squeeze on the shoulder. "Unlike Ataru here, what Napier went through happened so long ago, any treatments tried now wouldn't work at all. Mercy-killing would be the best way to permanently deal with the guy, though Bruce wouldn't like that." At Chiyo's and Ataru's confused looks, the major winked. "It would remind him too much of how his own parents died when he was a kid. Shot down by some crook in the middle of a back street after they got out of the theatre; botched robbery."

"Indeed," Negako stated. "There, Ataru. You may finish your tea, then rest for a while. If you desire to meditate, do so; call for assistance if required."

A nod. "Okay."

Negako then gazed on Dean. "I suggest you contact the Kōkyo. The sooner Ataru is removed from Tomobiki and Muchi's and Kinshō's influence, the better."

"Let's get some food into you first," the Canadian advised.

The grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū blinked, actually taken aback by the fact that she had not felt the desire to eat anything, and then nodded . . .

* * *

Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, the next morning . . .

"Oh, where IS that stupid boy? I wish I never had him . . .!"

The doorbell then pealed. Kinshō, who had been preparing breakfast for herself and her husband, headed to the main door to open it, revealing a strange girl in a black martial arts gi with a black belt around her waist, that with a gold _chi_ kanji at the end of the belts. Gazing on her, Kinshō was quick to sense something very familiar concerning this woman, especially given her remarkable strong resemblance to her own missing son. "Um, yes . . .?" she began. "Who are you?" she then asked.

"Greetings, Kinshō," the stranger then said. "I bear news from the Imperial Palace Agency concerning your legal status vis-à-vis Ataru."

Silence.

"I wish I never had him . . .!" Kinshō instantly moaned.

"That is the 1,932nd time you have stated that since he was six, including the three times you have stated that same statement since he was made to depart Tomobiki High yesterday around noon thanks to Miyake Shinobu," the stranger then stated, making Ataru's mother gasp in shock on her saying something so exact. And so potentially _embarrassing_ if it ever went public. "I will ensure Ataru is informed of same so that he may properly update his current 'How much Baka Okā-san hates me' tracker in his personal journal." A light smile then appeared on her face, one that made Kinshō quake at its lack of any true humour. "His _real_ personal journal stored in his private safety deposit box at the local branch of the Inshin Bank. Not the _falsified_ one he kept in his bedroom to deceive yourself and Shinobu as to his real thoughts."

More silence.

"Wh-where is he . . .?"

"That is no longer any of your affair. As of six o'clock yesterday evening, he was removed from the _koseki_ for the Moroboshi family here in Nishitōkyō and placed in a new _koseki_ for the Moroboshi family in his current place of residence. All parental rights either yourself or Muchi possessed concerning Ataru have been removed from you by direct order of the Tōkyō Family Court on suspicion of child abuse."

Still more silence.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAACK . . .!**_"

Noting that Kinshō was literally frozen as a statue - with cracks developing in the stone all over her body - Negako then shrugged before she passed by her, slipping off her shoes before heading upstairs to Ataru's bedroom. Once inside, she drew out a large carrying bag from a personal stuff-space pocket - using her own ki to manipulate the air to do that was one of the most basic lessons a student in Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū learned - and then she proceeded to collect all of her last host's/adopted brother's personal belongings into it. The false diary she kept on the work table, though she opened it on the first unmarked page and wrote something in a perfect mimicry of Ataru's handwriting. Once done, she placed the pen there so the page could be marked, sealed the bag and stored it in stuff-space, and then she proceeded back downstairs.

Noting Kinshō was _still_ frozen at the doorway, she walked into the living room. Drawing out an envelope full of legal papers from under her jersey top, Negako placed that on the living room table. Noting that Muchi had not reacted to her presence at all - he was engrossed in the morning edition of the _Yomiuri Shimbun_ - the ninjutsu grandmaster shrugged as she knelt and pulled out one of the photo albums. Working at speeds greater than normal humans could equal - Negako was beginning to discover all the many interesting aspects of her new body - she stripped the album of every picture of Ataru that was in there right from childbirth. Taking all of them, she dumped them into a nearby garbage can, and then with a burst of ki, set it alight. Without further adieu, she walked out of the house, ignoring the still-frozen Kinshō as she headed off towards Tomobiki High School to get Ataru's school records shifted to Azuma High.

After a minute, Muchi then asked, "Honey, is there something burning?"

Kinshō _still_ remained frozen in place . . .

* * *

Azuma High School, a little later . . .

"So Ataru-kun and Negako-chan are staying at your place until she can get a place of her own set up somewhere closer to school, right?" Kasuga Ayumu asked.

Kanami nodded. Everyone in Class 2-3 was enjoying morning recess. "Yeah. He was still asleep when I left the house this morning; Negako's working in getting his ki reserves and his brain processes all straightened around now that she's no longer sharing his brain. She even taught me a nice meditation exercise I could use." She sipped her fruit juice. "She may be as cold as a computer, but she's a more thorough trainer than the old ghoul or the old freak could ever be. And she's light-years ahead of idiots like Oyaji. Explains everything in detail, makes me understand how the ki flows would be improved by doing the exercise . . . " A giggle. "I can guess why Sensei went to get her. She's one of the best martial arts teachers available."

"Really?" Kagura Michiko asked.

A nod. "Yeah. Too many of them are of the line of thinking that it's the student's responsibility to discover the real purpose behind the training exercise on their own," Kanami confessed. "You won't see Negako pull any stunts like Jijii did when those idiots from Qǐnkūnlún came by looking for that special recipe scroll."

The others nodded; during their past meetings with Kanami - and Ranma beforehand when he and his "sister" were still one person with one soul - the "gang of six" had heard of all the adventures the wandering martial artist had been on from even before his arrival in Nerima. "That was the place whose martial arts masters named themselves after the _Shichi Fukujin_, right?" Mizuhara Koyomi then asked.

Another nod. "The same. You know, in the last month or so as I've been forced to sit on the sidelines, I've taken time to re-evaluate a lot of what I learned when I was still Ranma." Kanami made a face as she shook her head. "Waste of time."

"That bad, Kanami-san?" Mihama Chiyo asked.

"A lot of it. All the weird and stupid forms I was made to learn. Especially useless stuff like Martial Arts Dining." As the others all laughed on hearing of that one, Kanami then shrugged. "You know, Ranma doesn't realise it, but the Tendō family owes him some serious honour-debts. If he chose, he could totally destroy the Tendō-ryū and have those idiots booted out of their family house for all the things he did to keep them safe and happy. Not to mention put Nabiki and her father into jail."

"All those pictures she took and all that, you mean," Michiko mused.

"The same. And given how much Tendō's lied about Jijii, he could easily get his ass kicked off the Nerima ward council for deceiving them into thinking that the 'panty thief' problem is being dealt with when he's been actually _hiding_ the panty thief in his very own home." A smirk. "Both Sensei and Negako think Jijii might try to provoke something to get Ranma to fight me. Pity I won't go along with it."

"Why?" Sakaki Kiyomi asked.

A smirk. "Because it makes the old fool happy, Kiyomi-chan. It lets him feel in control of the situation. He can't stand the fact that I'm now out of his grasp and - if I agree to Sensei's offer to take up a Jewel - I will then become untouchable to him. And I could use my Jewel's power to make every girl in close range to me just as untouchable. That's a DEATH THREAT to the old geezer, Kiyomi-chan." Kanami smirked as she finished the rest of the juice. "Let's see how he likes to face something like that after all the shit he's put on my head even before I became my own girl."

"Kanami-san! Don't swear!" Chiyo instantly scolded.

Laughter filled the space, and then people perked as footsteps heralded the arrival of their homeroom teacher. "Ah, Kanami-chan! There you are!"

"Something up, Yukari-chan?" Kanami asked; she had caught onto Takino Tomo's addressing the older woman without the "sensei" title and learned that Yukari - who was, in many ways, still pretty much a high school student at heart - didn't mind.

"You're wanted down in the teacher's lounge," Yukari said, an amused smile on her face. "Your great-granddad's here; he says he'll stay here to meet all your friends. So's the old prune from that Chinese restaurant back in Nerima. Ditto with her great-grandkid and that four-eyed idiot that chases her skirt all the time."

Kanami blinked, and then she moaned. "Am I excused?"

"Sure, but try not to wreck the place, huh?"

"Hai!"

With that, Kanami flashed her friends a look before heading out. The others watched them go, and then Ayumu moaned. "It's a 'bleh' day for her."

"You said it, Ōsaka," Tomo mused . . .

* * *

Minutes later . . .

"Hiijii-chan!"

"Hey, kiddo!"

Watching Kanami physically meet her maternal great-grandfather at last, Cologne could only smile to herself as she nodded in approval. Much that she was very worried about this current situation concerning her future great-grandson-in-law's magically-created replica and what could happen if she took up Dean Raeburn's offer to become a Jewel Warrior, she was quite pleased to learn that this young warrior was a lot healthier and happier than what Mousse and Shampoo - not to mention Ranma and the Tendō sisters - had told her she had been while she was still living in Nerima. While she did suspect that Kanami would not accept any sort of apology from Shampoo for her past behaviour - short of Shampoo totally renouncing all claims concerning Kanami's brother and returning to the village - the Nǚjiézú elder was determined to do anything to keep the peace between her tribe and Hayashi Kanami. After all, while being given a Power Jewel was seen amongst her countrywomen as a mark of true womanhood, said device could give Kanami the power to retaliate for her sufferings on anyone who angered her. And do so from a position of such strength, any attempted retaliation against Kanami would be an act of suicide.

And unfortunately, Shampoo had gone out of her way to anger Kanami.

That could not be allowed.

Cologne wanted her village and family intact.

Hopefully, Kanami would understand that.

Cologne canted her head as she listened to Indiana and Kanami speak away in quite acceptable American English - the Nǚjiézú elder had learned the language from an Englishman based in Hong Kong the previous century, thus she found some of the pronunciations their New World cousins used quite odd to her ears - she then nodded as she began to realise the sheer scale of the retired archaeologist's task concerning his Japanese relations. While Indiana could claim kinship to two other great-grandchildren living in Japan - Ranma's and Kanami's maternal cousins, Asagaya Rikako and Asagaya Seiko, both of whom lived in Musashino west of Nerima and currently attended a posh private Catholic all girl's school, the Lillian Girl's Academy - he wanted to ensure that his great-grandson would know of his American relations as well. Given what Cologne knew of Saotome Nodoka's reticence to accept anything that clashed with her Tokugawa-era worldview, that would be quite the task for Indiana to accomplish. While the American archaeologist had run into his fair share of odd and cursed objects over his career, there was no specific one that could clearly reveal itself as the source of this odd "curse" that had been striking down his Japanese relatives since after the Second World War. There were some potential candidates, but no exact proof.

For Ranma's sake, it would have to be investigated.

Finally, Kanami and Indiana moved to take a seat across the coffee table from the three visitors from the Nǚjiézú village. Watching her, Cologne was quick to see the joyous look on Kanami's face melt into a cold neutrality that reminded her too much of someone fresh from the Soul of Ice training. As she took a seat, she then focused directly on the elder, purposefully not looking at Shampoo and Mousse, which made the former wince and the latter shiver in outrage. A warning glance from Indiana quickly made the weapons-master freeze, and then meekly back down; even if he was willing to lay down his life for his beloved Shampoo, the special laws concerning the Great Teacher Father from America were set in stone and could not be ignored. It would be even worse if the Protector of All Life was moderating this meeting; the Great Teacher Mother from Canada had a rather sharp temper and when it flared, lives were at stake.

"So Elder," Kanami then said in a very formal voice, though there was a touch of mocking derision in it. "What brings you about this part of Tōkyō to bother me? Your great-granddaughter's true target is Saotome Ranma. I have nothing to do with that family anymore, nor do I wish to have anything to do with them in the future."

"As I have come to understand it, young meteor," Cologne responded in turn, addressing Kanami by the popular nickname given to students of the Tensei-ryū. "Given what I have learned about how you were treated after you were separated from that young warrior, I cannot blame you for feeling as if the whole world has turned against you. I understand that even the young chef from Kansai found it quite difficult to accept you as a friend while you were still living in Nerima, is that correct?"

"That is correct. Fortunately, when I was allowed to claim my life truly as my own thanks to the actions of my late grandparents, my lawyers immediately sent both her and her lunatic of a father legal writs forbidding them from coming to my home in Taitō or to my school here to harass me. If they do, then we will spread broadside the fact that the Kuonji Clan of Nijō should be considered no different than burakumin because of their continued dishonourable actions trying to claim a yatai that was never theirs in the first place thanks to the daughter's actions with the Gambling King."

Cologne blinked. "You would go _that_ far?"

"Yes, I would. You can understand that the Saotome Clan of Bubaigawara and the Tendō Clan of Naka'arai - along with the Miyamoto Clan of Shakujii as it was their late daughter who married the dishonourable braggart and student of the so-called "grandmaster" of Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū, Tendō Sōun - have been given similar warnings. The actions of the braggart's middle daughter, the would-be Yakuza Tendō Nabiki, against me are known to you. Atop that, the braggart himself shelters the so-called 'panty thief' in his own home while he lies to the honourable ward council of Nerima, promising them that he is moving to deal with the problem while he cowers like the spineless fool he is whenever the old fossil threatens him. And there are the actions of those two wastes of flesh I now look on as my parents only by genetics. Fortunately, one of them won't be long for this life given this 'curse' I've been told about by my aunt Hisayo, so she won't be lording it over your would-be great-grandson-in-law for long. As for the panda, he has a lot of petty thievery charges to answer for; it's just the laziness of the Nerima police division that has allowed him to remain free for all this time." A sigh. "So again, why are you here?"

Shampoo and Mousse shuddered at the cold breath escaping Kanami on her asking that; even if the former's command of Nihon-go was still spotty in places, she had fully interpreted what Kanami had expressed concerning her feelings towards all those she had interacted with until a week ago. "As you know, my great-granddaughter came to this land pursuing young Ranma in retribution for the shame she felt when he defeated her - while wearing the body you now possess - back at the village," Cologne stated. "Much that she still feels the shame of that defeat even now that she is married to him by our laws, she had no right to take out that shame on you after you were separated from Ranma and given the chance to live your own life. She has come to apologise."

"Your explanation, I accept. Her apology, I will not."

Shampoo jolted as Mousse exploded. "_**HOW DARE YOU . . .?**_"

_PHHUTT!_

The weapons-master cried out in shock and pain as he folded in on himself just as the rather sharp stench of cordite filled the air. "I was not talking to a worthless sack of flesh like you," Kanami said as she pulled back the Israeli Weapons Industries Jericho 941 "Baby Eagle" automatic pistol - with tubular sound-suppressor attached to the muzzle - she had just drawn from stuff-space to nail him in the right shoulder.

As Shampoo gaped at the sight of her Àirén's sister (even if she didn't acknowledge that relationship now) making use of a _**gun**_ of all things on her would-be husband, Cologne took a deep breath as she moved to calm things down. "I take it Dean has already started you on firearms training," she said after a quick ki-check of Mousse; the bullet - no doubt a .22 training round as the wound in the right shoulder hadn't really penetrated the shoulder blade - hadn't done much damage.

"She has. Sensei is upset at me for not accepting a revolver, but I do like the idea of having as many rounds with me whenever I need to do a quick kill," Kanami said as she made the Jericho disappear from visible view. "Control the idiot, Elder. The next time he interrupts, I shoot out both his eyes and render him permanently blind. Same with your great-granddaughter. I will speak to you. Not to them."

Cologne nodded, and then lashed out with her staff to hit a shiatsu point to cut off the bleeding. "Shān, take the fool and clean up his wound. Don't make a mess."

Shampoo shakily nodded her head as she helped the moaning Mousse to his feet and out of the teacher's lounge. As soon as they were gone and the door had closed behind them, the elder then relaxed. "I am sorry about that, young lady," she then said.

"Do you blame me, Elder?" Kanami then said as she allowed the Soul of Ice to crack and tears to appear in her eyes. "You know, for all the trouble you, Shan, Mousse and your tribe have caused me, there's still a part of me that looks upon you as friends. You are far above both Jijii and Oyaji when it comes to being a martial arts teacher. Shan - when she's not in her stupid 'let's go on a date, Àirén' moods, is actually a sweet and nice person. The type of person I'd want at my back if I was in a fight. Mousse - when he's not being an ass - is pretty much the same way." She then wiped her eyes clear. "But right now, all I feel from them is _betrayal_! Just like I feel from the Tendō sisters, from U-chan, from Oyaji, Ofukuro, old man Tendō and Jijii . . . and most of all, from Ranma himself. How am I supposed to feel after being made to think that everything my life was structured around was being ripped away from me just because I was something unexpected? And unwanted! Tell me this, old ghoul: HOW IN THE NAME OF THE GODS AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL AT THIS TIME, HUH? TELL ME!"

"Hey! That's enough!"

She jolted, and then she smiled in embarrassment as Indiana squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. Taking a deep breath, Kanami then gazed on Cologne, the mask of the Soul of Ice back in place. "Elder, I say this and I will not repeat myself again. I accept your explanations about your great-granddaughter's actions. I will NOT accept an apology from either her or the stalker who wants to crawl into her panties that works for you right now. Not now, not ever. As she looks on me as a mere nobody, so shall I treat her, not to mention her would-be husband. But I can assure you this: I will not interfere in your quest to obtain Saotome Ranma as a part of your tribe. I will not allow him to take up the Hayashi name; as far as I'm concerned, since he still cares for his parents, he has no right to that sort of protection. Whatever sort of honour problems he has with the Tendō Clan and the Kuonji Clan - not to mention whoever else out there that might have been hurt by Oyaji's scams - are his problems to deal with, not mine. I wash my hands of it, totally. What you do from this point on is not my concern. My destiny lies in the service of the Son of Heaven and this nation. My destiny lies with the Tensei-ryū, not a _minor_ art like Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū. Be assured that I will honour your training of me in your tribe's martial arts and will not transmit same to anyone else without leave from you. But given how much my sensei, the Grandmaster Deannette Raeburn of the Tensei-ryū - as well as her friend, the Grandmaster Moroboshi Negako of the Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū - intend to train me in their schools' ways, I believe that over time, I will find different means other than what you have shown me in the past to deal with certain situations." She then stood up. "Be well, Elder. May your Goddess watch over your people. Good day."

She then bowed before walking out of the room, heading in the other direction than Shampoo and Mousse had gone to get his shoulder looked at to return to her classroom on the second floor. Indiana watched her go, and then he sighed, turning to offer a handkerchief to a wet-eyed Cologne. "I'm really sorry about that."

"No, Indy, don't apologise," the Nǚjiézú elder stated. "We are an arrogant people in the end. What happened here was proof of it. She's within a hair's breadth of taking Dean's offer and making herself as safe as safe can be from any possible known threat. And in many ways, I can't blame her." She gazed at him as she gave him back the handkerchief. "These Seekers that created those Jewels were quite wise to make them so powerful and make them focus their attention on orphaned girls. Your great-granddaughter was abandoned in the worst way possible by people who simply didn't have the energy and the patience to take the time to understand her needs and help her. She wants to lash out; look how fast she was in dealing with Mùsī. And if Happy is going to be his normally obstinate self, she's going to lash back hard on him through her brother. And I fear he will suffer for it greatly. Indeed I do."

He nodded. "Then I think it's time I spoke to my great-grandson."

She nodded in approval. "May I speak to him first? To prepare him?"

"I would be very grateful, Elder."

Cologne smiled . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_


	4. Chapter 4

Lunchtime . . .

"You SHOT him?"

A hollow-cheeked Kanami turned to gaze on a wide-eyed Chiyo. The Gang of Six and their new friend were back in their usual place on the roof enjoying their meals. "I can't believe I lost control like that," she admitted to herself. "I made it clear I wasn't interested in listening to either him or Shan . . . and what does he do? His stupid bullshit 'How dare you hurt my precious Shampoo' routine again!" A shake of the head before she perked as Yomi reached over to squeeze her shoulder in reassurance. "To believe that Ranma and I _tolerated_ that garbage from the blind duck! Ever since that idiot first came to this country, it's been the same broken record all along! Can't he get a clue finally? Ranma doesn't want anything to do with Shampoo! I sure as hell don't! Why can't he get a move-on, beat her in a fight and claim her?"

"Maybe because he doesn't want to hurt her that way."

Eyes locked on Michiko. "That would make sense," Kiyomi then said before taking up a slice of fried tai and nibbling on it. "Since the only way the females of that village can respect a male is for the male to defeat them in battle, Mousse-san's refusal to challenge Shampoo-san that way must make him revolting to her."

"Well, it's not your problem anymore," Yomi said before turning to her super-hot curry bread to finish it off. "You made a pretty loud statement when you put a bullet into the dolt's shoulder." She then perked. "Why didn't we hear it?"

"Silencer and a sub-sonic .22 training round," Kanami said as she reached into her skirt pocket to draw out an English-language training manual on the Jericho 941 published by Magnum Research, the company in the States that imported the pistol from its builder, Israel Weapons Industries of Ramat HaSharon on the Medditerranean coast.

Tomo took the book and scanned through it. "Hey! This looks easy! Give me the gun, Kanami-chan . . . ITTE!" she then howled as Kanami smacked her over the head with a ki-sledgehammer, knocking the raven-haired wildcat onto her backside.

"Idiot! You're too much of a loon to trust you with a firearm!" Kanami snapped.

Tomo moaned as the other girls all snickered or laughed . . .

* * *

Fūrinkan High School, afternoon recess . . .

"Mousse was SHOT?"

Cologne nodded. The elder had made her way to Class 2-4 to meet up with Ranma and Akane during their break away from classes. Nabiki was also present; the middle Tendō daughter was now quite pale at the revelations the Nǚjiézú elder had just made about her meeting with Kanami earlier in the day. "Yes. Fortunately, Dean is quite an expert when it comes to personal firearms instruction and she started Kanami off on a training version of the smaller model of the Desert Eagle pistol the Israelis make. I don't know how far Kanami will take it once Dean considers her ready to graduate to a full-bore weapon, but knowing what I do of those particular pistols, it wouldn't surprise me if she takes it all the way to a .50 calibre Action Express model."

"And those things make huge holes in people."

The four gazed on Chanpatsu Hiroshi, who had been sitting nearby along with Ranma's other close friend from the class, Bosabosa Daisuke; not to mention Akane's best friends in the class, Tokoro Yuka and Asano Sayuri. "Yeah, I know," Ranma said. "Oyaji hates the damned things; try as he might, he can't create a martial art form that can deflect bullets coming at him. When I was in Okinawa training, he provoked the Marines at Camp Hansen to shoot at me with their weapons so I could learn how to dodge the bullets. Took me a while and I nearly lost my left arm in one incident, but I got it." He pointed to the impact point, which was a more reddish shade than the surrounding skin - everyone was in summer uniforms at this time, so he didn't have to take off his gakuran jacket - but it had fully healed. "Makes me respect anyone who's got a gun. Especially snipers. They're the most patient people around. Just sitting there, all nice and quiet, waiting for the right moment to make the kill."

"How can you _joke_ about something like that, Ranma?" Yuka gasped. "You were SHOT, for heavens' sake! How could you look on something like that as FUNNY?"

"It ain't, Yuka," he said as he gazed on her. "Nothin' about my training was ever any fun. Not one damned bit. I just . . . " A deep sigh. "Hell, there's no use in complainin' about it now. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for Oyaji. Yeah, he sure as hell ain't as good of a teacher as the Elder here, but he knew what he knew and he kept at it until I got it." As the others around him nodded, he then gave them his trademark smile. "You guys are the lucky ones really. You all had normal lives and normal childhoods. You got to do things I still can't bring myself to understand. Don't worry about me. I'm cool with what's happened to me."

"Pity we didn't really realise it about Kanami-chan until it was too late," Sayuri said as she bowed her eyes. "She's you in everything save gender. And she didn't act anything like what Akane-chan's accused you of being." On seeing Akane wince, the girl with the ponytailed brown hair lightly smiled. "Sorry, Akane-chan."

"Yeah, we were sure as hell a bunch of idiots when it came to her," Daisuke noted. "Yeah, she was you in a girl's body, Ranma. But all 'Roshi and I - not to mention all the other guys, especially Kunō - saw was a really pretty girl." He shook his head. "Can't count how many times I actually hit on her!"

"Me neither," Hiroshi added. "So, Cologne-sama, tell us: What does Kanami meeting up with this Raeburn woman mean in the end? Who is she, anyway?"

Cologne smiled. "Deannette Raeburn - her friends are allowed to call her 'Dean' - was born sixteen days after the British North America Act of 1867 went into effect, thus transforming three British colonies north of the United States into the modern Dominion of Canada. In 1892, after she had been forced to flee her family home thanks to a rather greedy uncle who certainly didn't mind killing all his relatives off to seize the family fortune, she stumbled onto a cave somewhere in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. There, she found an alien device - shaped like a large diamond jewel on a very beautiful necklace - about three thousand million years old, one which literally gave her the power of a god, rendered her effectively immortal and ultimately transformed her into this planet's first true metahuman warrior. With that power, she could easily fight the Last Son of Krypton and the World's Mightiest Mortal to a standstill, then deal with the radioactive-powered Doctor Bruce Banner without being exhausted." As the non-martial artists all gaped at that assertion, the Nǚjiézú elder added, "After the Great War, she came here to Japan and trained under an immortal martial arts sensei named Hosan Hirosuke; 'Master Hosan' or the 'Immortal Master' as he is better known. When he came to the point where he could not bear to live anymore in a Japan that was falling under the sway of Tōjō's militarists, he took his life in seppuku in 1937 . . . and in doing so, saw to it that his last student would inherit all _**five thousand years**_ of his knowledge to use for herself. Dean Raeburn."

Silence.

"Holy shit!" Daisuke gasped. "That would make her . . .!"

"A freakin' metahuman-powered version of the Punisher!" Hiroshi finished.

"Indeed," Cologne stated. "To become a Jewel Warrior - which is what those like Dean are called - you need to fulfil three qualifications. One: Be a woman. Two: You must have endured physical and/or emotional hardship while growing up. Three: Be orphaned or abandoned by one's immediate parents." She nodded at Ranma. "Guess who we now know . . . and who now fits all three of those qualifications?"

More silence.

"Kanami-chan . . . " Sayuri whispered as Yuka began to sob.

"Yes, dear," Cologne said, nodding. "Fortunately, given that she had trained with Master Hosan for almost twenty years, Dean learned how to curb back her temper and keep it under control so she could later serve the Canadian government when World War Two came. She therefore would know how to help Kanami deal with her own anger issues and feelings of abandonment and betrayal. Look how fast she turned a gun on Mousse. Could you imagine what might happen if the Hibiki boy decided to do something to her? Much less that witless fencer who goes to this school, to say anything of that loon he calls a sister?" A gaze on Nabiki. "I don't think you need to be reminded of how she feels about you, child." To Ranma. "Not to mention your parents and Happy."

"It's already started."

Eyes locked on Akane. "What do you mean?" Yuka asked.

"Ojii-chan," Akane stated. "At supper last night, he was muttering about the fact that Kanami-chan was 'taken' away from him." A sigh. "And sure enough, once he started threatening us, Otō-chan and Oji-chan caved in and vowed they would do all they can to get her back to the house!" A smirk as she gazed on her fiancé. "Ranma nailed them both with cinder blocks to the forehead that smashed them into the koi pond, so that shut them up for the time being. But I can guarantee they'll be at it more."

"Yeah, they are planning it," Nabiki stated. "You weren't there at breakfast this morning. Ojii-chan was still growling about getting Kanami back to the house and Otō-chan was doing his 'Yes, Master! My feet will be like wings!' imitation all the way!" A smirk. "That is, until Kasumi-onēchan threatened to have Akane-chan cook all the meals at the house for him, Oji-chan and Ojii-chan. That shut them up real quick!"

Laughter filled the room save from Akane, who was huffing in anger at being reminded yet again about her inability to cook. Cologne then glanced at the wall clock. "Ah, it's almost time for your final class. Ranma, your great-grandfather will be at the Nekohanten tonight after seven o'clock if you wish to meet him then."

A nod. "Tell him I'll be there."

"What about your mother?" Akane asked.

A sigh. "What about her, Akane? It's not my fault that she refuses to listen to her own sister and is letting herself get set up to die too early."

The youngest Tendō daughter blinked, and then she nodded. Much that she knew that Ranma - if Kanami was any indication - had more than enough reasons to hate his own mother, he was willing to give Nodoka a chance to redeem herself . . .

* * *

The Tendō home, suppertime . . .

"OH, MY!"

"That CAN'T be true!"

"It is."

Silence fell as Kasumi, Sōun, Genma and Nodoka - the latter had responded to the elder Tendō daughter's request to be at supper this evening, prompted by Akane - took a moment to absorb what Akane, Ranma and Nabiki had just told them. "But why is she using one of _those_ disgusting things?" Nodoka then demanded after shaking her head. "If she is about to be chosen to take up this Power Jewel which would give her all the power people have said Raeburn-shōsa possesses, why make use of _guns_?"

"It's a psychological tactic most of all."

Eyes locked on Nabiki. "What do you mean?" Genma demanded.

"Remember, Oji-chan; Raeburn-shōsa fought in the European side of the Greater East Asia War," the middle Tendō daughter stated. "Most of the time, she was taking on normal Nazi troops when she wasn't busy fighting and killing Axis metahumans. Could you imagine how they must have felt facing her? A woman who is totally invulnerable to bullets, rockets and everything else lobbed at her. A woman who could probably even shrug off a biological or chemical warfare attack. And even if the Nazis had a good idea about nuclear weapons and were actively researching them, they weren't working at the speed Oppenheimer-hakase and his friends in America were, so she wouldn't be bothered by them. So there might be some SS platoon out in the forest near Auschwitz or someplace like that. Out comes Raeburn-shōsa to destroy the camp and let the people inside escape. They shoot everything they have at her. Nothing works; she just KEEPS ON COMING! And then when she's on them, she pulls out her revolvers and pops them each in the head with a .44 Special. Could you imagine how onlookers would see something like that? Someone who just CAN'T BE KILLED?" A shake of the head. "And thanks very much to your misogynist ways and your wife's ass-backward attitudes, Kanami-chan will get that very same power! And if what she just did to Mousse earlier today is any indication, she doesn't particularly care for any of us anymore."

Nodoka shuddered. "Sōun-kun, will you . . .!"

"Shut up."

The older woman gasped. "Nabiki! How DARE you . . .?"

_WHANG!_

"Nē-chan said 'shut up,' Oba-chan," Akane calmly stated after slamming a mallet on Nodoka's head. "_You_ are the guest here! Not she! And given how much she's worked to help keep this house over our heads even when she really didn't care to do things like that, she has every right in the world to say whatever she thinks! And she's right, you know! Thanks to _**your**_ ass-backward attitudes that went up in smoke and fire at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a sweet girl who never wanted to hurt a soul now feels so abandoned and alone that she's willing to do ANYTHING to feel safe and secure again!"

As Nodoka stared wide-eyed at her future daughter-in-law, Akane withdrew her mallet. "I thank the GODS that Raeburn-shōsa and the Emperor were there when she needed them!" she then added. "I shudder to think of what might have happened if some Yakuza gang - or worse, some anti-human mutant gang - got their hands on her! They could turn her into something that makes even Frank Castle look like a kindergarten bully in comparison! So before you open your mouth next time to let out the garbage that's in that sewer-pit of a brain you have, THINK for a change! Because NEXT time you try something that might hurt your son - my FIANCÉ! - I will cut both your hands off and make DAMN sure you never hold that _**stolen**_ honour sword of yours ever again!"

Nodoka yelped as she shrank in on herself, her whole body quaking at the thought of losing the one thing she believed she had which could allow her to maintain some sense of control over the lives of her son and future daughter-in-law. Before Sōun could say anything in protest, an icy stare from Kasumi made him immediately clam up, as did Genma on seeing that. Ranma was calmly sipping his tea. "Akane?"

"Hai?"

"Knock her out, take the sword. We're going to see Hiijii-chan."

Nodoka gasped. "WHAT . . .?"

_CRUNCH!_

"Nice hit, Akane," Nabiki noted after seeing Nodoka driven face-first into the floorboards as Akane got to her feet, scooping up the wrapped Saotome honour sword at the same time before she moved to depart the living room.

Genma shuddered; much that he didn't care at all about his adopted family's rather overbearing sense of honour, much less Nodoka's delusions about being a master kendō-ka, he did have certain ingrained habits that came forth at some of the most interesting times. "Girl, there's no need to take that sword back! It was a . . .!"

"Oji-san, say anything more - much less go out to follow Ranma-kun and Akane-chan to their meeting with Jones-hakase - and I will make VERY sure that you, not to mention Otō-san and Ojii-san, will have all your meals cooked by _Akane_, not me."

The portly master of the Saotome-ryū gasped as he froze in place. "And we will make VERY sure that you can't scarf off anything on Ranma-kun, much less any of us," Nabiki added as she stood up. "Hey, Ranma! If you get the chance, could you get your great-granddad to autograph this?" she asked as she held out a picture for him.

Ranma took it, and then grinned. It was a black-and-white image of Indiana Jones taken sometime during the 1950s, when he had finished his work for the Central Intelligence Agency and was settling down as a professor emeritus at Marshall University at Bedford, a suburb of New Haven in Connecticut. "I should be charging you for this," he said as he gave his future sister-in-law a wink. "C'mon, Akane."

Both of them headed out of the room. "My heavens!" Nabiki breathed out, a touch of satisfaction in her voice. "He's actually learning! Unbelievable!"

"He's always known, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi reminded her.

The two of them then laughed, ignoring the moaning Sōun . . .

* * *

The Nekohanten, a half-hour later . . .

"You don't need to give me this back, son."

Ranma sighed. "I got the whole lowdown about this sword from Kanami's lawyer when he came to the house to deliver all the writs about us not goin' over there and botherin' her anymore," he said as he relaxed in his chair, facing Indiana Jones. "This was an honourable bridal gift you had forged - _**at your own expense, by the way!**_ - to persuade Hiibā-chan's parents that you were honest about marrying her! And what did they do? After the way - and after you had been totally cut off from Hiibā-chan's family thanks to that damn war - they turned around, deliberately _**ignored**_ Hiibā-chan's wishes concerning her son, then chased you off the property at the end of this very blade . . . " - he tapped the Saotome honour sword in emphasis - " . . . and accused you of something you did out of an accident and because you and Hiibā-chan were both drunk at the time it happened." A sigh. "I wasn't there when your son was born, much less conceived, sir. I can't judge you for your faults; hell, I've got loads of them, too. Why the hell should I consider your faults worse than mine?"

Indiana blinked, and then he smiled. "Arigatō, Ranma. I really appreciate it."

"How's Kanami-chan, Jones-hakase?" Akane then asked.

A sigh. "Hurt. Angry beyond belief. Feeling like she's been abandoned by everyone she knows and loves. And gladly willing to lash out of she gets the chance; you know about Mùsī, don't you?" As they both nodded, Indiana sat back in his chair and crossed her arms. "As Dean reads it, she's just like Dean herself was after she had been forced to flee Ontario for British Columbia after her uncle killed her family off." As both Akane and Ranma bowed their heads on hearing that, the archaeologist smirked. "Give her time with Dean and Negako and she'll cool off finally. Maybe not to the point where she'll accept Genma and Nodoka as her parents, but she might be willing to accept both of you back into her life again." He glanced at Akane. "She'll have to get over all her feelings for you first. They're pretty damned strong."

Akane nodded. "Who's Negako, Hiijii-chan?" Ranma asked.

"Believe it or not, the _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_," Indiana answered. "Turns out that a friend of yours from Nishitōkyō, Moroboshi Ataru, was the fifty-seventh person to take up the Promise of Bunka Go-nen. Dean used her Jewel to find some way to give her a body of her own; it happened yesterday afternoon. And since she's seen as a legal adult in the eyes of the Imperial Throne, Negako became Ataru's legal guardian, so both are staying with Kanami at this time until they get their own house set up and move there. Once he recovers from having her in his brain for ten years, he'll be going to school with Kanami and your friends over in Adachi at Azuma High School."

Ranma blinked, and then his eyes widened. "Oh, you mean Chiyo-chan and her friends, right?" As his great-grandfather nodded, he relaxed. "They're good people. Hey, is Michiko-chan finally part of that class? She's got this grudge against Kiyomi-chan that's something awful to watch!" As Indiana laughed, nodding in the affirmative, Ranma then smirked. "Well, at least she'll have friends there."

"Who are these people?" Akane asked.

"People from a high school over in Adachi Ward that I met once when you went a little too crazy with the mallet," he confessed. "There's this real genius kid in the bunch; her name's Mihama Chiyo. She's got this really spaced-out friend of hers from Ōsaka named Kasuga Ayumu; people there actually call her 'Ōsaka' even if she ain't like any Ōsaka-jin you've ever met." As Indiana grinned and Akane laughed, Ranma added, "There are a small group there. They're nice people. Nice NORMAL people, that is." A sigh. "Kanami kinda needs that now, especially after what we all put her through."

"It's not your fault, son," Indiana advised.

"It IS my responsibility since no one else seemed to care for her save for Kasumi-san. Hell, there were times that Kasumi-san didn't really help her either!"

"True, but what can you do now?" the American asked. "She's got a home and a family name she can call her own, plus the means to support herself. She's free of any obligations being part of you might force on her. She's got a new sensei and martial arts school she can call her own. Her sensei is a hell of a lot better than Happōsai could ever be. She's hurting because she effectively lost the life she had known all along - not to mention the woman she loves deeply - but she's being given the chance to recover from it. And she's quite afraid, even now, that it could all be taken away from her still. That's why she's so stand-offish when it comes to all of you."

"What if I allowed myself to be cursed with the Nanniichuan water and then we use the incense candle to break myself apart?" Akane then asked.

"_**NO!**_" Ranma instantly snapped.

"I agree," Indiana said. "I actually proposed that idea to Kanami when I met with her during study hall at school. She shot it down right then and there." A sigh. "She wants you, Akane. Not a replica and certainly not a _male_ replica of you! She wants YOU!" He then shook his head. "But she knows you care more for Ranma, so she's willing to swallow the pain and allow you to have what you want. And if you decided to drop Ranma to go after Kanami - hard as it is for any of us to imagine that - she knows you would be hurting and she won't be the cause of any pain for you." He took a deep breath. "You're just going to have to sit back and let her be, Akane. Give her time. She'll recover and decide what to do with herself then." A smirk. "But if she becomes like Dean eventually, she probably will decide to stay single."

"Is being a Jewel Warrior THAT dangerous?" Akane gasped.

"No, but like any other type of mystery man - or 'superhero' as they're called these days - she can attract very unwanted attention by beings that wouldn't care about the safety of innocent bystanders," Indiana warned. "The only person, as far as I know, that Dean's ever allowed close to her is her fellow War Hawk, Jessica Dover. Jess - she was a squadron leader in the Royal Canadian Air Force; she'd be considered a major these days in the Canadian Forces - absorbed the power of a Slavic _zhar-ptitsa_ when she was a child thanks to a relative on her mother's side who was descent from the old pre-Orthodox Christian druids that ministered to her ancestors before the territory of Kievan Rus' was Christianised in the late tenth century." Nothing their confused looks, he added, "She part-Ukrainian." As they nodded, he continued, "A _zhar-ptitsa_ is the Slavic version of what you call a _h__ō__'__ō_ or what our hosts would call a _fènghuáng_. A phoenix in other words. And because of that, Jess is effectively as immortal as Dean herself." He then smirked. "Problem is, even if Jess was raised in the Roaring Twenties when things were really starting to become more free thanks to Prohibition down in the States, Dean is a late Victorian Era woman in her attitudes. Lesbian relationships back then were kept _way_ under the table. The good news about this is that they do have loads of time to work around their hang-ups and get closer."

"Well, I hope they do succeed," Akane stated . . .

. . . as the front door opened. "Ranma!"

Ranma moaned. "Hai, Ofukuro?" he said as he glanced over his shoulder at a shivering Nodoka, who looked dishevelled thanks to Akane's earlier mallet strike.

Hearing the annoyance in his voice - and remembering how angry at himself he had become when Kanami had left the Tendō home like she did - Nodoka then winced as she tried to calm herself. It was quite hard, for _he_ was sitting with them. And given all the _lies_ about the clan honour blade Ranma had learned from Kanami's despicable and dishonourable lawyers - after all, who had given _them_ the right to question the honour of the Saotome Clan when the Hayashi Clan had gladly agreed to allow Genma to take the socially-higher name on their marriage - which might have been reinforced by _him_ for whatever evil purpose he had . . .! "My son, please," she then said with as even a voice as she could muster. "There is no need to speak to this man anymore."

"I disagree."

Her voice caught in her throat on hearing that icy statement from her son, and then she shuddered. "Ranma, please! Whatever he's told you . . .!"

"Is a hell of a lot more about my family than either you or that man you married have _**ever**_ revealed about me," he cut her off again, the Soul of Ice in full control over his body as he turned away from her, which made Nodoka wince. "And whether or not what your great-grandparents said about the sword is true or not, I don't care. All I do care about is the fact that _your_ family has deliberately _**lied**_ about our 'pure' blood to others for _seventy years_!" As the crowd of people that were at other tables gasped on hearing that, Ranma then smiled. "Hey, Sasuke!" he called out. "You there?"

"Hai, Master Ranma! I'm right here!"

Akane turned as an elderly ninja appeared from under the table right behind hers and Ranma's. "Hey, Sasuke!" Ranma said as Sarugakure Sasuke bowed to him. "You were there for about thirty-five minutes, right?" As the elderly Kunō retainer laughed and nodded, Ranma then said, "You make sure Kunō and Kodachi find out _everything_ you heard tonight. And this time, make _**damn**_ sure they fully understand everything. Okay?"

A deep bow. "Hai, Master Ranma! Please excuse me."

And with that, he vanished. "Why are you letting him take that information to Bokken-Idiot and Ribbon-Girl, Àirén?" Shampoo then asked. "It just gives them a further excuse to try to break you away from Violent Kitchen Destroyer here." She nodded contemptuously at Akane on saying that, though the latter didn't react to it.

"It's for Kanami's sake most of all," Ranma stated. "Learning that his precious 'pig-tailed goddess' is one-eighth Scots-American will make Kunō think she's less 'pure Japanese' as he believes her to be. He won't go after her anymore." He sighed. "And while I'm not so sure what Kodachi might do when it comes to Kanami, she thinks a lot like her brother does. Finding out _I'm_ not so 'pure' will get her off my back."

Shampoo hummed. "True, you're right." And with that, she headed off.

"Ranma . . . why . . .?"

He gazed on Nodoka. "You weren't there for me for ten years, Ofukuro," he said as he looked away from her, which made her wince as she felt the cold in her voice. "Never once did you do ANYTHING to make me feel safe to reveal myself to you before Kanami and I got split apart. Thinkin' you were a great kendō-ka when even that loon Kunō would laugh at how clumsy you really are." As Nodoka cried out in disbelief at her son's cold analysis of her "skill," he then reached over to pick up the sheathed katana that was sitting on the table between himself and his great-grandfather. "Part of me right now wants to destroy this thing. After all, it's perfect. Not a blemish anywhere on the steel. Yet the 'honour' this sword supposedly represents is NON-EXISTENT!" As Nodoka dropped to her knees in disbelief, Ranma sighed. "Here, Hiijii-chan," he said as he handed it to Indiana. "I know you don't want it back, but it's safer in your hands than in Ofukuro's. Maybe taking something she cares for more than her own son might finally teach her something about livin' in the modern world."

As Nodoka shook her head, a pained moan escaping her, Indiana sighed. "Well, if you do insist on it, I'll just take it over to Kanami and let her have it."

Ranma smirked. "Tell her to destroy it if she wants."

"I just might."

Nodoka groaned as she dropped unconscious face-first into the floor. "I'll take care of her," Akane said as she walked over, yanking the older woman up by her obi and dragging her out of the restaurant. Then with a heavy shot-put pitch, she sent Nodoka flying into the growing evening sky towards the Saotome home near Toshimaen Amusement Park. Once she had vanished, she then turned as Ranma came out to join her, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. Noting that, she smiled as she walked over to gently wrap an arm around him and move to walk him off towards the Tendō home.

Watching them depart, Indiana could only sigh as he stood up. Quickly setting aside some money to pay for the tea and snacks they had been provided, he then paused to gaze on the sheathed sword in his hand. As another surge of revulsion hit him on gazing on the blade that he had given to Ranma's family as a way of showing how much he actually loved Miyami - and knowing how much Miyami's parents had so brutally twisted the truth around to poison Ichirō and his future family against him - he sighed.

"Jones-hakase?"

He perked, and then gazed over at a middle-aged salaryman, who was relaxing with friends and enjoying a quiet drink at a nearby table. All were gazing sympathetically at him. "It's not your fault, Professor," the one that had spoken up said. "You did the right and honourable thing. Both in having that sword gifted to Miyami-sama's family to give them their sense of pride back . . . and then going to get your son and take him back to America per her wishes after the war was over. It's not your fault her relatives so badly twisted things around that your family was torn away from you like that." He then smiled. "At least Ranma-kun and Kanami-chan know the truth now. Who cares about their idiot mother? She strides around thinking she's some daimyō's wife back from the days the Tokugawa Clan were ruling this land. Passing judgement on anything she encounters, not caring at all to listen to any explanation that doesn't match up with her worldview. Very few in this part of town like her at all."

"She's still my granddaughter even with all her faults," Indiana then said. "Lord knows, my people - even now - aren't really that much better."

"Who was the first to help us when that tsunami hit Tōhoku?" another salaryman asked. "Who was the first to help us whenever any big earthquake strikes our land? Your people may be arrogant, Jones-hakase, but you have hearts the size of the sun when it comes to helping other people in need, even if you don't like their governments."

"As best as you can," a third man noted.

Hearing that, Indiana smirked. "She is my granddaughter and right now, there's a curse that's been killing off her family since the war." He glared at the sword. "I wonder if this might have anything to do with it." A sigh. "Well, fortunately, I have a friend who's quite the expert on the esoteric, so I'll go ask her."

"Cologne-sama?" the first salaryman asked.

"No, someone with even GREATER knowledge," the archaeologist said as he moved to tip his hat to them. "Don't drink too hard tonight, okay?"

Laughter filled the restaurant as he headed out . . .

* * *

Taitō, the Hayashi home, the next morning . . .

"You are wise to have brought this to my attention, Henry."

"So it is a curse?"

"It is four curses, in fact. One more benign than the others, though."

Silence.

"FOUR?" Dean yelped.

Negako calmly stared at her. "Yes, Deannette. Four." She then indicated the glowing ki lines she had provoked in the beautiful steel of the katana Indiana had brought with him from Nerima last night. "This line here. The energy appears to have been first connected to Henry around the middle of 1936." She gazed knowingly at the American. "That was when you encountered the Ārōn Hāb'rīt in Egypt."

"What's that?" Kanami asked.

"The Ark of the Covenant," Indiana stated.

Silence.

"SUGOI!" Chiyo - all of Kanami's friends from school, including Yukari and Minamo, were there as this was a Saturday - cried out. "THE ARK OF THE COVENANT? YOU ACTUALLY FOUND THE ARK, JONES-HAKASE? SUGOI! SUGOI! SUGOI!"

"Um, Jones-hakase . . . "

A chuckle. "Kurosawa-san, this isn't a classroom. Ask your question."

Minamo chuckled as she lowered her hand. "Sumimasen! But what exactly IS the Ark of the Covenant? I assume it has something to do with Christian history . . . "

"No, Sensei! Not Christian history, but Jewish history!"

Indiana smiled. "Chiyo-chan, why don't you explain it to her!"

"Hai!" Chiyo took a deep breath. "Many years ago, thousands of the peoples of Israel were held in slavery in Egypt. One day, a wise man named Moses came to make his people free. And with the help of the Jewish God - he's known in their language as Jehovah or Yahweh - they made it across the Red Sea into what is today Israel."

"Oh, that parting of the Red Sea thing, right?" Tomo asked.

"Hai! Along the way, they stopped at Sinai-san, a mountain that many people say was on the Sinai between Egypt and Israel. There, Moses went to the summit to receive the Ten Commandments from God. And they were engraved on two stone tablets that he could then take down to show the people who had just fled slavery that he had actually spoken to God. But by the time he got back down there, all the former slaves had - for the most part - lost faith in Moses and built this golden calf statue to worship as their new god. Well, Moses got really mad at it and smashed the Tablets of the Law which had the Commandments on them on the statue, destroying it. But the Tablets got destroyed, too, so they built this great box to carry the Tablet fragments in. And that is called 'the Ark of the Covenant.' They used it to conquer those parts of Israel that didn't worship as Moses' people did, but then it got lost." Chiyo then giggled as she gazed on Kanami's great-grandfather. "Um, what did happen to it?"

"It was captured by a pharaoh - the experts don't agree exactly who it was, but I personally believe it to be Shoshenq I, who ruled from 943-922 BCE - and taken to a city called Djanet. Today, it's called Ṣān al-Ḥaǧar, located in the eastern end of the Nile River delta about twenty miles from the Suez Canal." Indiana sighed. "It was there that a sandstorm eventually came along and destroyed the city, burying the Well of Souls, which is where the Ark was placed in to make sure the Israelites couldn't claim it back. In '36, I was told by Army Intelligence that the Nazis were after it. Realising that if they had the Ark in their possession, their armies would be simply unstoppable, I went after it. And with a lot of blind luck and near-misses, I managed to save it, then got it transported to America. These days, it's in a storage vault in Area 51. That's in southern Nevada at Groom Lake, not so far from Las Vegas."

"I've always disagreed with Indy about the Ark."

Eyes locked on Dean. "Why?" Yomi asked.

"The Ark, Yomi, is a _Jewish_ holy artefact. What were the Nazis planning?"

"The Holocaust," Kiyomi answered.

"Right. What Indy's NOT telling you is that when they got the Ark to an island they had turned into a test base, the Nazis tried to open it. Which was - and is - a huge no-no; I can't tell you how many times I've had to fly down to Groom Lake and calm the angels trapped in the Ark from going out to kill everyone in sight."

"There are kami in the Ark?" Chiyo yelped.

"By the way you look at it, yes," Dean stated. "Deep down, they're not bad people. But they were - when they lived in this life - Jewish people who died when Moses went medieval on the Golden Calf, then were punished by Jehovah when they faced him at the Gates of Heaven to make sure they would strike down the enemies of Israel." A shake of the head. "Sure enough, every once in a while, some dumb fool wants to pop open the Ark and get at the Tablet fragments." A snort. "Can't tell you how many people have been turned into dust because they got too curious for their own good."

"Did you ever do that, Jones-hakase?" Yukari asked.

Indiana smirked. "No, Tanizaki-san. You have to understand how people look upon God in the Abrahamic traditions. Mortals can NEVER view His Face. So when they opened the Ark, I realised something bad would happen and told my future wife Marian to close her eyes and TO NOT LOOK AT THE ARK!" A shrug. "That's why we survived."

"And they chose to bestow Jehovah's favour to you for it," Negako stated.

Eyes locked on Ataru's sister. "So when Kanami's great-granddad got the sword made, they sensed it all the way in America and enchanted it?" Ataru asked.

"Indeed they did, Ataru. They sensed that Henry's feelings for Miyami were honest and - with Jehovah's approval - blessed the sword for it." Negako stated as she gazed once more on the sword, tracing a finger over the next ki line she had detected. "As did the spirit of the Sangréal. Or so it seems to me."

More silence.

"THE HOLY GRAIL?" Chiyo yelped. "SUGOI! SUGOI! SUGOI!"

"Wait!" Yomi said as she held up her hand as Ayumu moved to keep Chiyo from tripping over as she cheered them. "I know about this one. Isn't that the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper before he was tried for heresy and executed?"

"The same. It also was the cup that captured his blood when he was crucified on the Hill of Golgotha," Indiana stated. "My father, Doctor Henry Jones Sr., was one of the foremost experts in the Holy Grail alive at the time. The Nazis, yet again, went after him to learn where the Grail was. I went to keep him protected and keep the Grail out of their hands, which wound up seeing us travel to Hatay, which was then an independent country but today forms part of Turkey." He smiled. "I actually had the pleasure and honour to meet the last survivor of the First Crusade, Sir Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was a Templar Knight and had - with two brothers - vowed to protect the Grail from those who were unworthy of its power. When I last left the place, I saw the temple he lived in collapse on him, so I don't know if he is still alive or not."

"No, Geoffrey passed into the Dào and reunited with his friends when the temple collapsed," Negako stated, which made Chiyo instantly start to cry. "Chiyo, calm yourself. At the time of his demise, Geoffrey had lived for 872 years." As the others all gaped at her, the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū lightly smiled. "Ladies, Henry here is 111 years old. How do you believe he has lived for so long - and still looks as if he did back in the 1950s - without any sort of assistance? As an archaeologist of the old school, he has endured much in the way of hazardous exploration trips all over the world."

"You _drank_ from the Grail, Sensei . . .?"

That was a wide-eyed Chiyo. "Hai, I did," Indiana stated. "My father had been shot by one of the Nazis there at the time, so I realised I needed to get the Grail and use its water to restore him to health. When I went into the cave where the Grail was located, it was hidden among a dozen or so fakes. Drinking from any of the fakes would have killed me. Fortunately, I realised that since he was a carpenter, Jesus would have taken drink from something he had made from his own hand. So I took the obvious choice and drank from it." He smiled. "To quote Sir Geoffrey, I chose wisely. Thus, I was able to use the waters in the spring with the Grail to save Dad."

"Is your father still alive?" Yukari asked.

"No. He passed away in 1955. While I've always believed that my longevity came from the Grail, now that Negako here is warning about the Ark's involvement . . . " A sigh. "I think I'm beginning to wonder what else I've run into during my years that helped out to keep me young and vital even if I am almost as old as Dean is!"

"Through your body's ki, I can identify three things," Negako stated. "The Ark and the Sangréal are two of them. The third one, you encountered in 1957."

A moan. "The Crystal Skulls, you mean?"

"Indeed."

"What are those?" Michiko asked.

"Alien skulls from a race of humanoids that first came to our world well before modern history became recorded," Dean stated. "I know of the race; by the time of Christ, they had discovered a means by which they could evolve themselves into a pure-energy form of being. I've never met a member of that race in my travels across the Universe after the Korean War." A nod to the American. "The skulls Indy ran into in '57 were buried in a place called Akator, which is in the mountains of Peru. There, a pre-Inca tribe still lived and protected the place where all the remains of the aliens had been buried in an underground temple." A smirk. "The Soviets - led by this total lunatic twit named Irina Spalko; she was heavy into metahuman research at the time - were after the things. Well, with the help of Indy, Marian and their son Henry III, they didn't get them and Spalko got herself teleported to another world."

"Sugoi . . .!" Chiyo whispered in awe.

"Wow, Jones-hakase! You met aliens, too?" Ayumu asked.

Laughter filled the room. "And that explains the nature of the curse that is now on this sword," Negako then stated. "The race based their society on adhering to strong family bonds. As the spirits of the Ark and the Sangréal both chose to 'bless' Henry for his show of respect to them when he rescued them the German National Socialists, so did the spirits trapped in Akator. And they - on learning that your Japanese relations all rejected any kinship to you - took gross exception to it."

Indiana blinked as he considered that, and then he sighed. "Yeah. Miyami's parents died around 1960, one right after the other. Ichirō and his half-brother died in the late 1980s. Nodoka and her cousins from Isao are getting to be the right age, as is Hisayo. But she knows about me and accepts me. As do Rikako and Seiko."

"Which is why they have been spared. As will Ranma and Kanami," Negako stated. "However, given the intensity of the energy of the energy embedded in this sword, I believe that even if Nodoka could be convinced to accept you as kin, Henry . . . "

"It's too late for her."

Eyes locked on Kanami. "I am afraid so, Kanami," Negako stated.

Silence fell before Chiyo began to cry. Immediately, Ayumu and Kiyomi moved to comfort the weeping pre-teen as she curled in on herself. The others all stared at Kanami, and then they looked away; even if she had only been going to classes with them for the last couple of days, they knew how mixed her feelings for her blood-mother were at this time. "Kanami, go outside and meditate," Dean then bade. "You need it."

Kanami gazed on the Canadian, and then she nodded. "I will return the sword to Nodoka," Negako then stated as Kanami headed out the back door. "Regardless of her many failures as a mother, she deserves to know so she can prepare herself."

"Can't you save her, Negako-san?"

Negako gazed at Chiyo, and then she took a deep breath. "Chiyo, the nature of curses is this: To defeat them fully, the one so cursed must _**accept**_ the lesson or lessons the curse was inflicted on them to teach. Nodoka lives in a delusional world where she and her family are samurai reborn from the Tokugawa Era. Anything that threatens that worldview is to be denied at all costs. That has hurt Kanami very much; even if you are helping her see the world as it is now, she is still critically blind to certain matters. I am more than sure it has hurt Ranma as well, in the same way. Given the current state of affairs between Kanami and her relations, that might give Ranma the impetus to change his own behaviour. As for Nodoka . . . " A shake of the head. "I cannot say, nor will I predict anything until I meet her. Ensure Ataru gets the special tea that he requires to help him recover. I will return as soon as I can."

"Hai!"

"By the way, what was that fourth curse?" Indiana then asked.

Negako gazed on him. "A fertility idol you encountered sometime before your encounter with the Ark of the Covenant. From the Chachapoya nation in Peru."

The American blinked, and then he sighed. "Right."

"That probably explains the woman's obsession with kids," Ataru muttered as he finished his tea before standing up and heading out the back door . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey."

Kanami blinked, and then she turned before smiling. "Hey."

"How're you feeling?" Ataru asked as he sat down beside her.

She took a moment to consider that, and then she sighed. "Relieved."

He blinked. "Relieved?"

"You think I should actually care for her?"

He considered that for a moment, and then he shook his head. "Personally, no. But I remember how much you - as Ranma - really hated the idea of lying to her like that because of that stupid piece of paper and what it made you promise to do."

"Yeah. That's when we actually thought it would be nice to get a parent who would actually _care_ for us. Pity that when I got separated from Ranma, I started to see the over-honoured bitch for what she really was," she noted. "Especially just before I left that madhouse once and for all. You should've seen her." A shake of the head. "She finds out about Ranma's ailurophobia . . . and what does she do? She grabs a cat and dumps it right on his head! Yellin' about it not bein' 'manly' havin' a fear like that! And when Akane tried to get the cat clear, Nodoka yanks out the fuckin' sword and tells her to back off!" She closed her eyes. "That made me snap."

"What did you do?"

"Smashed one of Akane's cinderblocks over the bitch's head to knock her out, then yelled at Akane to get rid of the cat," she replied. "I grabbed the sword and poised it over my knee. When she recovered and started yellin' at me for interferin', I said, 'One more word, you honourless slut, and your honour sword goes bye-bye!'" A smirk. "That shut her up right then and there! And it was right in front of Ranma, too! I saw that and then I said, 'So you care more for this useless hunk of metal than your own son, eh?' And she did nothing, not even shake her head in denial." A sigh. "That proved it to me. She doesn't see Ranma as her son. She only sees him in terms of her own stupid sense of honour. So I said to Ranma, 'You actually wanted to get back together with this useless sack of flesh?'" As Ataru laughed, Kanami smirked. "That made him totally silent for the rest of the meal; he refused to talk to her whatsoever. And he made sure that Oyaji and old man Tendō didn't do a thing. Akane kept Nabiki and Kasumi in line. And I tossed the blade back at the Saotome property, then slapped Nodoka across the face, telling her never to bring it to the house again since she doesn't have any true honour in the first place to have such a blade."

"And that night, you finally decided it was time to leave."

A sigh. "Yeah. Tendō tried to come after me later to make me back off, but I told him I'd go tell the ward council how much he'd lied to them about Jijii. That shut him up right then and there. I then told Nabiki that I'm sure the police would be _very_ interested in what she was doing at Fūrinkan High School, which instantly shut her up." Kanami then looked a little sad. "Kasumi then tried to moderate things, but I shot her down with, 'You're not my mother. In many ways, you're just as much of a monster as your relatives!' That made her break down and cry. Tendō freaked, but then I told him, 'Remember what I said.' He just staggered away. Nabiki didn't bother me for the rest of the night. After taking some time to cool down, I realised I just couldn't stay there anymore, so I packed up and walked out around midnight. Ran into Hashimoto-san a couple hours later at the local Family Mart when I was having some cup rāmen. He told me the story about Ojiji and Obaba, then brought me here."

"And you were free."

A nod. "I was free." She then blinked. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"What?"

"Why don't you hit on me like other guys do?"

Ataru blinked at Kanami's surprising question, and then he chuckled. "Well, much that I know you'd have to come to accept this sooner or later, but do you really see yourself as a girl?" he then asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"NO!" she snapped.

"My point."

Silence fell as they gazed on each other, and then they both laughed. "Well, thanks," she then noted before a knowing smirk crossed her face. "But you did want to do it, didn't you? When Negako was still in your head messin' things up?"

A shrug and a begrudging nod. "Yeah, it's true. As a girl, you're beyond beautiful! One-of-a-kind beauty! The type of beauty that makes you hope to Heaven that Kami-sama threw the mould away on when you were born!" As she snorted to hide her embarrassment, he added, "But hell, Kanami. You've got enough shit on your plate right now! You got a whole LIFE for yourself to go set up! You don't need to worry about boyfriends - or girlfriends if you swing _that_ way, of course! - right now! Hell, the major's just dropped an awesome offer on you! You gotta worry about that first!"

She blinked as she considered that, and then she sighed. "Should I do it?"

"I say 'yes.'"

"What about Ranma?"

Ataru sighed. "What about him?" As Kanami stared wide-eyed at him, he shrugged. "He always preached about honour and everything, but hell! You know how much he could twist things to try to get what he wanted! Yeah, he sure got a ton of bad breaks and all that, but I wonder if he hasn't taken a little TOO much after his old man in the long run!" As she slowly nodded on hearing that, he then shrugged. "'Sides, it's YOUR life that you got to live, Kanami-chan. Not his. He took his risk when he decided to use that incense burner. If you take the Jewel and he gets cursed again . . . well, it's too bad for him! Maybe it'll teach him something in the end."

"That's cruel."

"What happened to you was cruel. So what?"

And with a friendly squeeze of the shoulder, he stood and walked away . . .

* * *

Standing nearby, Dean could only smile as she took a deep pull on the Dutch Masters Corona Honey Sports cigar that she often favoured whenever she was in the mood to have a tobacco fix. It had been happening less and less since the hey-day of her smoking career back during World War Two, when she had to project the calm image of the cigar-chomping squad leader to the rest of the world when she moved to make the War Hawks - a team of three metahuman _women_ (all of whom were commissioned officers in His Majesty's armed forces of the Dominion) and one semi-metahuman _man_ (a staff-sergeant in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police mobilised into the Canadian Provost Corps for the duration of the war) - more acceptable to mainstream government and society. But knowing how bad tobacco fumes could be, it had still been a very hard habit to break, even with the amount of time she had spent off-world training other young Jewel Warriors in how to use the Seekers' Gifts for their planets' benefit. Maybe in a century or so, she'll finally ditch the habit once and for all.

Maybe . . .

"Hey, Ataru."

He stopped on hearing her call out to him, and then he walked over. "What is it, ma'am?" he asked as he gave her a curious look.

Dean placed an arm around his shoulder. "Let's go for a walk," she then bade.

Ataru blinked, though he was quick to follow her . . .

* * *

Nerima, the Saotome home, later . . .

"How could you . . .?"

Ranma sighed. "How could I what, Ofukuro?"

"Actually _listen_ to that man?" Nodoka demanded, shuddering at the sight of her son with his back turned to her, gazing calmly out the open doorway of the family home at the small lawn and pond beyond. "I told you to not listen to him . . .!"

"Akane?"

"Yes, Ranma?"

"Hit her."

_KLONK!_

As Nodoka moaned after getting her head smashed in by her future daughter-in-law's ki-mallet, Ranma took a deep breath. "You ceased to be my mother in every way but genetics when you decided that piece of paper I was _tricked_ into painting my handprint on mattered more than what happened to me. You know, Kanami was right the day she smashed your skill in and threatened to break that damned sword you care for so much. You know which one I'm talking about, don't you? The sword your great-grandparents STOLE from an innocent man back in the 1940s after he came here to try to rescue your father from a life your grandmother never wanted him to have!"

A groan. "That is . . . not . . . TRUE . . .!"

"It IS true, Nodoka. Cease denying what has been revealed about it."

Ranma blinked on hearing that cold and even voice, and then he turned to see a woman looking somewhat like a female Moroboshi Ataru with a fuller head of hair - and looking to be in her mid-twenties instead of sixteen - standing nearby, her hands holding a familiar sword in hand. She was dressed in a solid black martial artist's uniform with a black belt around her waist, that marked with the gold kanji _chi_ on the end straps. A quick scan with his own ki-sight revealed that this woman was clearly as powerful - if not _more_ powerful! - than either Cologne or Happōsai. Given that, he wondered if this wasn't some Tensei practitioner who had come to visit. "Who are you?"

"I am Moroboshi Negako. You would know me better as the _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_, Ranma," the newcomer stated. As Ranma gaped at her and Akane walked over to stare at the newcomer, Negako walked up to stand before them. "Your great-grandfather brought your family sword to me so I could examine it and ascertain the true nature of the 'curse' that has been killing your mother's relatives since shortly after the end of the Greater East Asia War." She then closed her eyes. "I also bear unfortunate news."

Ranma blinked, and then he sighed. "The curse has got Ofukuro?"

"Indeed it does. I give her six months to live."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"Is there anything I can do to stop it from happenin'?" Ranma asked.

Negako shook her head. "No. This curse was thrust on _Nodoka_, Ranma. Not yourself. Not Akane. And not Genma." Genma had remained at the Tendō home overnight, having decided he didn't want to be around to hear the back-blast of the previous night's events should he try to return home. "Only Nodoka. And those of Nodoka's blood who, like she, refuse to accept the truth about their relationship to Henry through your grandfather Ichirō. They continue to deny that they are not 'pure' Japanese. By lying to themselves, they continue to perpetuate pain on Henry. And that attracted the attention of three very powerful and lethal forces that view your great-grandfather with considerable favour: The Ark of the Covenant, the Sangréal that once bore the blood of Jesus of Nazareth, and the Crystal Skulls of Akator in Peru."

"What are they?" Ranma asked.

Negako moved to sit on the porch, and then she explained. By the end of it, which took about twenty minutes, Nodoka had managed to recover enough from Akane's mallet-strike to pick herself off the floor and move to stagger closer to where her son and future daughter-in-law were. As soon as she noticed the strange woman sitting there, she paused . . . and then her eyes locked in on the ornate katana in the other woman's arms. Instantly, Nodoka lunged over to snare the blade . . .

_KK-KRACK!_

. . . only to find herself knocked silly off to one side after Negako made a simple backhand sweep with the sheathed Saotome sword, clearly unbothered by the fact that the older woman had tried to attack her. Noting that, Ranma and Akane both nodded; this lady clearly was truly something if she could do that with no effort whatsoever. "So you see, Ranma, unless Nodoka fully and consciously repents her beliefs concerning her ancestry and what really happened between your great-grandparents, the powers of the Ark, the Sangréal and the Crystal Skulls will induce a fatal heart attack in the time period I stated earlier. Just as your grandfather and grandmother both died, one shortly after the next, sometime after her marriage to your father and your birth," Negako calmly stated. "And though I do sense you do wish to make her 'see the light' concerning certain matters, this is one battle you _cannot_ get yourself involved with. Filial piety is one thing, but the forces now involved here are of the opinion that such has to be _**reciprocal**_ to be properly acknowledged."

"In other words, Nodoka has to start loving Ranma as her own son instead of seeing him as a breeding machine to give her grandchildren," Akane explained.

A curt nod. "Exactly. Yes, she was emotionally damaged when Genma took Ranma away from this home for their training trip. Yes, the complete lack of contact between them for the following decade further exacerbated the damage and focused her mind on the seppuku agreement as the only means by which Nodoka could have ever hoped to see her child again. But now that Ranma has returned, why is she so insisting on forcing him to such an undefined standard?" Negako stared at Ranma. "What is manliness?"

"I don't know," he stated. "But I know I don't wanna be like what Ofukuro wants me to be," he then added. "Like lookin' in on other girls, violatin' their privacies and actually _sleepin'_ with 'em so she can get her grandbabies." A shake of the head, though Ranma was quick to sense that Nodoka had recovered enough to hear _that_. "I won't dishonour any girl by doin' that to them. I won't dishonour Akane by doin' that to other girls when I'm supposedly engaged to marry her. Far as I always understood, when you get engaged to someone, it's to _**one**_ girl! That's the way it works, right?"

"Indeed. Though in the old days, it was seen as acceptable to have mistresses and concubines, especially for those of higher social rank."

"Well, these ain't those days, aren't they?"

Negako lightly smiled. "No, they are not." She then focused on Akane. "You must feel very pleased to have such a loyal companion, Akane."

A blush. "Actually, I am really happy about it," Akane admitted as she moved to sit beside Ranma . . . which placed her between him and Nodoka, Negako was quick to note. "For the longest of times, I used to think the worst about Ranma. But once we finally got the chance to get away from everyone else and sit back and talk about it, I realised it was just all our insecurities from all the pressure coming at us that made us do that to each other. The name-calling, the insults, the lack of appreciation we ultimately felt for each other." A sigh. "That made me realise that when I understood how much Ranma really was willing to do anything just for me, well . . . " A giggle. "It's a fairy tale come true in some ways." Akane then scowled as she turned to glare at Nodoka. "Though there are some annoyances that are still getting in the way."

Negako hummed. "What will you do?"

"If she pushes it too far, she will never see a grandchild as long as she lives," Akane flatly declared, which made Nodoka choke on her breath.

"And if she continues to behave as if she has any right to decide what we will do with our lives, we will leave here and make sure she grows old and dies alone," Ranma added, which made Nodoka turn totally white before she passed out on the floor.

Negako blinked. "She was quite surprised by those statements."

"It's been coming for some time now," Ranma admitted. "I guess Kanami had done a lot of thinkin' while she was forced to be 'Ranko,' right?" At Negako's nod, he then added, "Well, she wasn't alone in doin' that. I was doin' it, too. So was Akane. With us livin' here for the last couple o' months, gettin' away from the usual morons, we started to work some things out between us." He gave his fiancée a light smile. "She finally woke up to what she couldn't do, but then I realised it was my duty to help her overcome it. So I decided to help her learn how to cook. It's been goin' slow, but she's gettin' some things finally." He was quick to note Akane's beaming smile on saying that. "Ofukuro went batty over it at the start because she thinks a man don't have a place in the kitchen. I told her I was bein' manly because I was supporting my wife as a husband should always do that when his wife needs help. That made her kinda . . . " He grimaced. "How would you say it, Akane?"

"It made her brain shut down for a while," Akane provided. "I guess when Ranma said that, it reminded Oba-chan of how much she was forced to live on her own because Oji-chan took Ranma out on that training trip for so long. So she hasn't said a thing about it since, but I can tell she doesn't approve of it either." A sigh. "Then came Ranma teaching me the Art. Oba-chan and Oji-chan BOTH flipped out at that."

"Because Ranma has no official teaching license?" Negako asked.

"And because I'm a girl, too," Akane stated. "Fortunately, Ranma was able to disable Oji-chan before he got too far in interfering with my training and I was there to smack Oba-chan in place whenever she started on her 'it's not the place of a woman to learn such things' tirades. Of course, I threatened right away to crush her wrists to the point where she could never hold a sword again, which cowered her right then and there. And Ranma knows the shiatsu points in his father's head to cut him off from using the Sen-ken forms against either of us." A sigh. "That was the first big clue we received about Nodoka's real feelings for him. Kanami helped out in that end the day before she left the Tendō home when Oba-chan tried to 'cure' Ranma's ailurophobia by dumping a cat on him." She reached over to squeeze his shoulder as he shivered lightly on her mentioning that incident. "Of course, all the revelations about Kanami hit right afterward, which hurt Oba-chan really badly, especially when the lawyer threatened to make public her true ancestry." A shake of the head. "Idiots."

"Indeed," Negako stated with a bare hint of an amused smile on her face. "I must state that even if you have this sword destroyed, the curses that now threaten to kill Nodoka - or her cousins - will not abate. They are far too ingrained into their bodies and souls to be removed so easily." She then handed the katana to Ranma, who accepted it back with a nod of thanks. "Since you accept the truth of your ancestry, you have nothing to fear, Ranma. I would advise you to ensure any future children are also mentored properly concerning your ancestry. Since Nodoka will undoubtedly not be there to influence their development, there will be little chance of their ever falling victim to that curse. As for Kanami, I would advise you both to remain clear of her for the time being. She still aches over what happened to her and will see either of your presences in her life as another reminder of what she has lost. I cannot say when or if she might welcome you back into her life, but it will not be for a while."

"Will she get a Power Jewel?" Akane asked.

Negako blinked. "Possibly, but not in the immediate future. Deannette has learned that she is worthy of being the host of one. But given that you two have lived separate lives for only two months, I am unsure if the spirit driving the powers of Zhòuquán-xiāng . . . " - at their confused looks, she sighed - " . . . 'Jusenkyō' . . . " At their nodding in understanding, she continued, " . . . will consider that Kanami's 'birth' would fulfil the requirement to allow you to live the rest of your life free of the curse's influence, Ranma. The more time before Kanami embraces a Jewel, the better. I would suggest you - if you do wish to show you care for Kanami living her own life - do everything you can to ensure anyone who might try to hurt her from your circle of acquaintances are curtailed before they go too far with her."

"Like Ryōga you mean," Ranma noted.

"And others as well."

Ranma and Akane both nodded . . .

* * *

Taitō, near the Hayashi home, that afternoon . . .

"Shoot! You're as much a tomboy as I am, Kanami!"

Kanami laughed as she stood before the floor-length mirror to gaze on the beautiful jeans she had just picked out for herself. Fortunately for her, even if the area around Ueno Park wasn't as chock-full of passionate martial artists as Nerima was, there were specialty shops that did cater to people with "special" needs. Especially when it came to those people who wanted to deliver high kicks and not give perverted boys a cheap thrill by having their jeans rip in half down the centre of the crotch because they would only stretch so far. "Yeah, I guess I am," she noted as she nodded her approval at the form-hugging look the new jeans gave her, and then she moved to get the four other sets set up so she could buy them all and depart the shop.

With her on this afternoon's shopping spree in the Ameyoko Arcade was Kagura Michiko, who was more than happy to help the redhead improve on her wardrobe. She had also been sent by Kurosawa Minamo to persuade Kanami if she would be interested in joining the school swim team, which would send Azuma High straight to the top when it came to prefectural standings and could give Kanami an open door to go to the Olympics in a few years. And while Kanami herself didn't see herself as a pure sportswoman, she did appreciate how much both Michiko and Minamo cared for her - as did her other friends at Azuma High - and was willing to consider joining the swim team. Though there was one small fly in the ointment, in the person of classics teacher and all-around ko-gal otaku Kimura Hyōsuke, who once gladly admitted that he became a teacher because of all the pretty high school girls and had even earned a derisive comment from _Ataru_ of all people because of how creepy he was, especially to people like Aida Kaori.

"So you'll be at the tryouts on Tuesday, right?" Michiko asked as the clerk rang up the sale and then moved to bag the extra jeans before she helped clip off the sales and security tags from the pair that were now hugging Kanami's hips.

"Yep. Sensei has no problem with it. 'Gotta have something of a normal life for the times you're not busy saving the world' and all that."

With that, both walked out of the shop and headed over to the nearby ice cream vendor to get a couple of cones before they headed out of the Arcade for the side street that would take Kanami back home for the evening. As she and Michiko chatted away, Kanami then perked on sensing something familiar come into close range. Quickly scanning around, she then grimaced on seeing a familiar head of ragged black hair bound partially by a golden tiger-striped bandanna. "Oh, fuck! Not him . . . "

Michiko tensed. "Who . . .?"

"Excuse me, but which way to Fūrinkan High School?"

The swimmer blinked, and then she sighed. Even if she wasn't as closely acquainted to Saotome Ranma and Hayashi Kanami as her friends, she knew about _this_ idiot. "Oh, fuck! The Lost Boy, right?" she asked, getting a groaned nod from Kanami as a result. With that, she moved to grab the redhead's arm and turned her down away from where Hibiki Ryōga was currently standing, trying to get directions from an elderly lady who was staring at this weird stranger in annoyance, wondering how on Earth someone could mistake _Tait__ō_ for _Nerima_ of all places! "Let's go."

Kanami said nothing as she followed Michiko down to a side street, and then they turned right; going down this way would pass by the back end of her property. "I swear, that bastard has some sort of internal radar when it comes to either Ranma or me!" she hissed. "Every time he wants to try to find us, he finds us! And of course, since everything that's gone wrong in his life is _**our**_ fuckin' fault, he feels justified in screaming out 'Die Ranma!' every time he does run across our paths . . .!"

"RANKO!"

Kanami stopped, and then she turned to see a glowing Ryōga standing not ten metres away, his body shivering with outrage at the thought that Ranma's sister would dare ignore him. "What the fuck do you want, P-chan?" she snarled at him.

"Don't call me that, Ranko!" he snarled as he marched up to her . . .

_PHHUTT!_

. . . and then his whole face exploded in pain as something small and fast slammed into the bridge of his nose, nearly shattering it - thanks to the Blasting Point training, getting nailed by a .22 subsonic round at five metres' range wasn't fatal to him - as his eyes were blinded by torrents of blood and the smell of cordite flooded his nostrils before the pain became too great and he collapsed to his knees. As his mind tried to wrap around what just happened, he felt a pair of hands snare him by the hair and yank him up. "You are no martial artist and you are no man!" a faint yet familiar voice snarled into his ear. "So I'll treat you like the _monster_ you are!"

_PHHUTT!_

Another explosion of pain destroyed what feelings he had in his right hand, which made him scream out in agony before a like blow fell on the left hand. With that done, he was flung face-first into the street, which made him howl once more as the asphalt ripped into his already wounded face. As he felt his consciousness fade, he didn't sense the metal rod streak right at his groin, which hit with such force that it sent him flying west to his destination . . . albeit not as whole as he intended to be.

Watching the wandering martial artist disappear into the afternoon sky, Michiko winced on noting how badly Kanami had hurt the sadistic and psychopathic bastard, though she couldn't complain. If the idiot couldn't get any control over his life, he had no right to heap all his problems over anyone else, especially a girl who wanted nothing further to do with him anymore. Looking away just as Kanami made her "low blow" to send the jerk away from here, she then turned back to see the redhead collapse to her knees in sobbing tears as she moved to hug herself. Instantly, Michiko was at her side, holding her as Kanami moaned out her anger and frustration at another reminder of a past she wanted nothing further to do with came back to her . . .

* * *

The Tendō home, an hour later . . .

"What's going on?" Akane demanded as she and Ranma ran inside.

Kasumi was at the living room table. "The hospital called," she stated; she had contacted Akane via cell phone to get her to come to her family home as quickly as she could. "Ryōga-kun was admitted into emergency surgery an hour ago."

The newcomers gaped. "What happened?" Ranma asked.

"He was shot three times," Nabiki explained. "Once in the forehead, once each in the wrists of both hands. The forehead wound didn't penetrate through the skull; no doubt, the Bakusai Tenketsu saved him. But his wrist bones are so badly shattered, he won't be able to fight with his hands or hold his umbrella again." She took a deep breath. "Who do we know has a _gun_ and has a reason to shoot that man?"

Silence.

"Kanami . . . " Akane breathed out, her face turning pale.

Ranma sighed. "She was probably out mindin' her own business . . . and he decided to pick a fight with her. She wasn't in the mood, so she put him down like a rabid dog." A shake of the head. "Can't really blame her. And I can only guess what'll happen if Kanami decides to press attempted murder charges on him."

Akane blinked. "She wouldn't go THAT far, would she?"

"Akane, you remember what I told you about how serious Ryōga takes grudges," he cautioned her. "Don't you remember what Kanami said about the idiot in her letter?"

She took that in, and then she nodded. "It proves that thing is no martial artist at all," Genma then declared with as much gravity as he could.

"Shut the fuck up, panda!"

He jolted. "Sōun!" he barked. "Make your . . .!"

"Tō-chan, say a word and you're off the council!" Nabiki snarled.

Sōun clammed up, and then bowed his head in acquiescence. "You have no right to judge Kanami-chan at all, Oji-san," Kasumi then warned, which made Genma wince. "It was because of _**your**_ pathetic beliefs that saw her cut off from everything she felt was hers the instant she was made her own being! We tried our best to make her feel at home despite all the damage _**you**_ caused her because of your backwards ways! Gods only know, we all made mistakes - even me! - but it was YOUR fault from the very start! If you hope to remain as a guest in this house, you will stop ALL talk on that line now and forever more! And don't depend on Otō-san to try to support you anymore! We have made him see the light on that regard!" She then crossed her arms. "Besides, I do believe that both of you know something concerning Ryōga-kun that you never bothered to speak to Akane-chan about! I have a good idea why Ranma-kun was forced to keep quiet about it given how easily he could be taken advantage of if approached the right way, but what excuse do either of you have concerning Ryōga-kun's little secret?"

Genma and Sōun both turned white on hearing that. "B-but Kasumi . . . " the former then sputtered as he stared wide-eyed at her. "If we say anything . . . "

"Ryōga-kun's been keeping a secret from me?" Akane demanded.

Ranma sighed. "Yeah! Unfortunately, I was the cause of what made him want to keep that secret, so he used my honour against me before I could tell you."

"BOY!" Genma snapped.

"_**SHUT IT, PANDA!**_" Nabiki snapped back. "_**OR YOU'RE SPENDING TIME IN THE ZOO!**_"

Genma yelped on hearing that, and then he cowered away from her. Akane blinked as she considered what had just been said, and then she blinked. "P-chan . . . " she whispered as her skin began to pale as the implications of what she was now considering sank in. "Ryōga is P-chan, isn't he? He's got a Jusenkyō curse?" she demanded. On seeing Ranma then nod, she blinked before she sank to her knees. "Why didn't you . . .?" She then caught herself before shaking her head. "Sorry! I forgot what you just said!" She turned to glare at her father. "Well? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because he was useful!" Sōun pleaded.

"In what way?" Kasumi asked.

"To make Ranma-kun jealous and admit his feelings for Akane-chan!"

Kasumi's jaw dropped in shock as Nabiki gaped at him. "Oh? And what might have happened if Hibiki's little secret got out into the general public?" the latter then demanded. "What people would've started to think was that Akane was SLEEPING with Ranma-kun's ENEMY! She would've been dishonoured to the point where Ranma-kun would have been within his rights to call off the engagement right then and there! All he had to do was tell his mom about it and you would have been forced off at sword-point! You know how easy it is for the over-honoured bitch to keep THIS lazy idiot in line!" As Genma winced and Sōun began to sob, Nabiki shook her head. "You stupid moron! You hype and hype all the time about honour yet you don't know SHIT about it! If you think we're going to support an idiot like you in the wake of that, you're smokin' something you shouldn't be, Tendō Sōun! Okā-chan must be turning over in her grave!"

Sōun howled with grief on hearing that. Kasumi then sighed. "Well, now that's out in the open, there's no choice now," she stated. "Ranma-kun, are you aware of how to apply both the Cat's Tongue pressure point and the Ultimate Weakness moxibustion?"

"Sure am," Ranma stated, nodding.

"Apply it to our fathers, please."

A smirk. "Sure thing."

Genma gasped on hearing that threat . . .

_WHONK!_

"You're not getting away with it _this_ time, panda!" Akane snarled.

A moan escaped him as Ranma walked over . . .

* * *

The Saotome home, an hour later . . .

"You cannot do this . . .!"

_SLAP!_

Nodoka gasped after being back-handed by Kasumi across the cheek, which was enough to knock her over. "You will be silent in this matter," the elder Tendō daughter stated. "Our decision is final. Since neither yourself, your husband nor our father seem to have any inkling about what _real_ honour is all about, you are forbidden from entering the Tendō family compound ever again. Furthermore, I have sent a missive to the city council explaining Otō-san's many lies concerning Happōsai-ojiisan to them, stating that it would be in their better interest that they expel him from their ranks as soon as possible. As to what this will mean for the future of the family home, that is now in the hands of people who CAN make COMPETENT decisions about that end. Namely all of us." She indicated Nabiki, Akane and Ranma with her hand. "And since you yourself refuse to enter the Twenty-first Century and be a _real_ mother to Ranma-kun, I have - as is my right as a legal ADULT - made an application to have Ranma-kun placed on the Tendō _koseki_ pending his marriage to Akane-chan. Thus, you are childless."

Nodoka stared at her. "You have no RIGHT . . .!"

"Oh, really?" Kasumi asked. "Pity that when Ranma-kun and Akane-chan met his great-grandfather at the Nekohanten, one of the local registrar workers was there having a wonderful night out unwinding from the office! He was quite disgusted after hearing the _truth_ behind your family's so-called 'honour sword!' As a matter of fact, he was SO disgusted by what he had heard, he immediately reported the guilty parties who had supported your family's efforts to conceal themselves to his superiors, which saw them all put on vacation and your family records restored to the way they SHOULD be all along!" She then smiled as Nodoka turned white-faced at the fact that her family's shameful secret had now gone public. "At the same time, he was more than happy to do a quick favour for me! Looks like it'll be the _Tend__ō_ School that will carry on, not the _Saotome_! Perhaps in the future, when things are more peaceful, we can help Kanami set up the _Hayashi_ School of the Art!" She then caught herself. "Oh! Raeburn-shōsa is already helping her do that! I forgot!" A polite giggle then escaped her.

Nodoka shook her head, and then turned to Ranma . . . who immediately turned his back to her. "My son . . .!" she moaned. "You can't do this . . . "

"'Son?'"

The older woman froze as he stared at her, and then he turned away.

"I have no mother. Let's go, Akane."

"Yeah! The stench of _dishonour_ in this place is too much!" Akane sneered out as she took his hand in her own and they both walked out the door.

Nodoka watched them go, and then she moaned as she collapsed on herself. "There is also a court injunction against you!" Kasumi added. "You appear within a hundred metres of any of us and you'll be arrested on the charge of attempted _murder_! I'm sure we could arrange to have your wrists destroyed to the point where you'll never be able to hold a sword again! I doubt we'll ever see you again in this lifetime, Saotome Nodoka. Live on in your dishonour and die in your lies. Farewell."

And with that, she and Nabiki walked out of the Saotome home for the last time, leaving behind a sobbing woman who now was alone in her shattered dreams, along with a man who had been shown how far his grief had destroyed his life and a transformed panda who was now helpless to do anything to get anything back to normal again . . .

* * *

Nerima General Hospital, that evening . . .

"Where . . . 'm I . . .?"

"Hey, P-chan!"

Hearing that hated voice, Ryōga's eyes fluttered open . . .

. . . and then he paled on seeing three incensed women gazing down at him like three pitiless versions of Pallas Athena herself gazing down on the battlefield of Troy centuries ago. Noting who they were, he began to shudder as he tried to find where the bastard Saotome was hiding himself, much less his slimy sister who . . .

Who . . .

She . . .

She actually . . .

A dark green aura then began to form around him. "How DARE she . . .?"

He then stopped on hearing the sensual _hsssss!_ of a sword being drawn from its scabbard, and then he winced on seeing the flash of a very sharp steel blade shine into his eyes. A second later, a sharp jolt of pain slammed into his left side right below his heart, which made him howl in agony, though he couldn't do anything to twist himself away from that deadly lance into his abdomen as his arms and legs were all tied down, as was the main part of his body. A second later, his scream was muffled out by a wet cloth over his mouth, which nearly made him gag in shock before he found himself staring into the very emotionless eyes of one Tendō Nabiki. "Shut up, pig!" she snarled. "After what you've done to our family, you've got NO right whatsoever to complain about anything! Least of all about Ranma's sister! Understood?"

Ryōga's eyes widened even more, and then he howled through the cloth as he tried to struggle free. "Pierce his heart, Akane!" Nabiki then ordered. "We'll just let him bleed to death, then make him disappear forever from view! No one will miss him!"

The pain in his side suddenly lanced up as the sword seemed to twist under the diaphragm as the point was re-orientated up towards his heart, which made Ryōga's howls turn into a pleading whimper as he realised that the Tendō sisters weren't playing games with him. On seeing him nod rapidly, Nabiki then held out her hand to stop Akane, and then she leaned once more into his field of vision. "Cut it out with the ki, pig!" she warned. "You try to set off a Shishi Hōkōdan, we'll hack your head clear off, transform you into P-chan and dump you into the river somewhere for the fish to eat! You hear me, you honourless fool? Cut it out with the ki or be a head shorter!"

Ryōga gargled as he willed the ki away from his body, and then he moaned in relief as he felt the sword tip be drawn out of his body. He then gasped on seeing Akane hover in view, the blood-soaked end of a very sharp katana hovering close to her face. "Now," Nabiki then stated. "There are some new rules around our house these days. The rules are as follows: Dishonourable pigs who can't admit the truth about their Jusenkyō curses are not allowed to visit. If they show up, they'll be made into instant Sunday brunch for us to eat. Furthermore, there will be no more blame game on Akane's fiancé concerning what happened at Jusenkyō. He told us what happened and we believe _**him**_ more than we will ever believe a liar like _**you**_. You will no longer bother to fight Ranma or challenge him anymore. In other words, Hibiki, you are _persona non grata_ at our house from this day onward. We will _**not**_ listen to your excuses anymore. We will _**not**_ show you any pity since you don't deserve it. And we will _**not**_ tolerate you abusing our hospitality, to say anything of our sister's honour, because _**you**_ happen to have problems with directions and everything else. And I don't need to explain to you what happens if you decide to go bother Kanami - that's who we used to call 'Tendō Ranko' - anymore in the future. If you can't hack this, we will deliberately USE your curse against you, then kill you and see to it you disappear once and for all time." She then leaned over to yank the cloth off his mouth. "You understand this?"

He shuddered. "How DARE Ranma . . .!"

"STAB HIM IN THE HEART!" Nabiki barked.

Ryōga screamed as a new lance of pain slammed through his chest, diving ever so close to his most vital organ. "You're not getting any choices in this matter, Hibiki!" Nabiki snarled. "You either agree to it or die. No other choices."

A moan escaped him as Akane drew out the sword again. "As you may now have come to notice, Ryōga-kun, no one will come to save you this time," Kasumi said as she walked up to stare intently at him. "I was more than pleased to divert Tōfū-kun away from this place and Ranma-kun is more than happy to keep any nurses away from responding to your pleas for help. So you are ALONE right now! And no one will raise a finger to help you, ESPECIALLY when we make it public about your curse and how badly you were willing to destroy Akane-chan's honour to seek your petty revenge on an innocent man!" As Ryōga's eyes went totally wide on hearing that, Kasumi shook her head. "What a disgusting beast you are. All you had to do is call out for help and we would have come to help you. Ranma-kun was quite happy to help you even if you did wish him harm. And what on Earth did Kanami-chan do to earn your ire, I wonder?"

He moaned. "But it was . . .!"

"Akane!" Nabiki said.

The sword swung into range. "NO!" Ryōga screamed out. "PLEASE!"

Silence fell, and then Kasumi sighed. "You are even more honourless than burakumin, Hibiki-_san_!" she said in a hiss, which made him wince on hearing _**her**_ of all people compare him to the "hamlet people" who had traditionally been seen as without any sort of redemptive qualities due to their ancestors' occupations. "At least burakumin, even if they are grossly disadvantaged of in this society, do their best to live honourable and TRUTHFUL lives! What did you live? A life of _lies_ that interfered in an HONOURABLE marriage agreement! The fact that our fathers USED you to press their own disgusting goals towards that end is just as horrible as what you yourself tried to do! If you wish to seek vengeance against those who wronged you, go seek out Tendō Sōun and Saotome Genma at the Saotome residence! Ranma-kun was trapped by his naïveté and your guilt-trip on him from speaking the truth! Neither Otō-san nor Oji-san had no such excuses! And they no doubt were LAUGHING at you when they saw you snuggle up to Akane-chan or trigger another fight between her and Ranma-kun! Think hard about that and NEVER darken our door again!" She then turned away. "And I think the wounds on your hands and your face demonstrate quite well what Kanami-chan thinks of you! Next time, she won't have a training pistol but the REAL THING! Your Breaking Point training won't save you THAT time! Don't expect us to come to your aide again!"

"Let's go," Nabiki said.

With that, they walked away, Akane spitting a hissed "Pig!" as they went. Watching them, Ryōga blinked before he felt a new wave of depression overcome him.

"Why . . .?" he moaned out . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_


	6. Chapter 6

Taitō, the Hayashi home, later . . .

"So there won't be any problems with Hibiki?"

Dean shook her head. "The Tendō sisters and Ranma went over and gave the idiot a crash course in Reality," she said as she and Kanami enjoyed tea and snacks in the living room. "Since Hibiki's one of the so-called 'Nerima Wrecking Crew,' the police won't probe too deeply into how he got shot like that." She pointed at Kanami. "But I expect you to be a little more careful using that pistol in the future, young lady."

Kanami winced as she bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Hai . . .!" After a moment, she then took a deep breath. "So what else happened?"

"Well, my contact over at the Nerima police box also told me that their parents were tossed out of the Tendō home and dumped off at the Saotome place. Since Sōun and Genma both knew about Hibiki's curse yet never did anything to warn Akane about it, much less protect her from what he was doing to her and what he _could_ have done to her, they judged them both as having dishonoured both families and banished them from the Tendō grounds, along with Nodoka. She has a court injunction on her head as well, though I doubt it would really stop her even if the potential dishonour of disobeying it is quite grave." She then perked on remembering something else. "Oh, forgot! The Saotome family _koseki_ has been properly altered to publicly reveal yours and Ranma's relationship to Indy. The people who helped the Saotomes keep that swept under the rug were put on vacation and the ward offices are keeping an eye out for further attempts at trying to get that particular element of your ancestry hidden once more. And Ranma's been loaded onto the Tendō _koseki_ pending his marriage to Akane."

Hearing that, Kanami nodded. "Good."

"By the way, Ataru's got a surprise for you."

The younger woman perked. "Surprise? Me? What?"

Dean smirked. "Now, if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!" she scolded as she finished her tea, and then stood up. "C'mon, it's this way."

Kanami blinked a couple times, and then she finished her tea before rising to follow the major towards the guest bedroom, where Negako and Ataru had been staying temporarily until the former could arrange for the purchase of a lot of land to serve as a combination home and dōjō for their part of the Moroboshi Clan somewhere in Adachi close to Azuma High. At the door, Dean knocked. The door opened, revealing Negako. "She is prepared," the latter stated. "Close your eyes and we will guide you inside."

Kanami nodded before closing her eyes. Dean and Negako then gently shifted her into the room, moving her to sit down in the middle of the room. "Remain where you are and do not open your eyes," Negako then stated. "Your surprise will be revealed."

A nod. "Hai."

Dean and Negako then slipped out of the room. Kanami remained in place until she tensed on feeling a pair of soft hands touch her on the cheeks. Before her eyes could snap open automatically to make her see who was touching her, a pair of equally soft lips then landed on her own to give her a tender kiss. That made Kanami gasp as her eyes did open, revealing a very close up look at a pretty yet tomboyish girl with the same hair and eye colour as Moroboshi Ataru. In fact, said girl - who was now dressed in a pretty furisode-style kimono with tigers, mountains and streams on it - could easily be Ataru's very own twin sister, even more so than Negako herself was! As she took that in, the other woman demurely smiled before leaning in to give the redhead another tender kiss. On feeling _that_, Kanami then felt her surprise and shock at being so closely introduced to this strange woman fade, that being replaced by a growing longing for intimacy and comfort that she had never really felt before. Within a minute, both were holding each other closely, passionately kissing away . . .

* * *

A few minutes later, two madly-blushing women came out of the guest bedroom, making their way to the living room, where Dean and Negako were relaxing with Ataru, all three enjoying tea. Noting the delighted smile on her friend's face, Kanami then huffed as she glared into Ataru's eyes. "Did you go to the Nekohanten?"

"No, we did not make use of the power of Zhòuquán-xiāng in this case, Kanami," Negako stated. "Tariko's body was created from the same source as my own."

Silence.

"Really?" Kanami asked as she and Tariko sat down side-by-side at the table.

"Yep. Turns out, there's this huge factory on one of the planets in the Phentax star system which can churn out bioroids like the bodies Tariko and Negako are using now just like that," Dean said as she snapped her fingers several times in rapid succession to emphasise her point. "Since you really need someone to act both as a best friend figure and potential romantic interest - like Akane is to Ranma - and since you wouldn't have been comfortable being with a boy, I went back to Phentax Five and got another un-templated body to clone off Ataru. Tariko's soul was created from a copy of Ataru's memories, though she was adjusted to make her act as a woman."

"Whatever technology created this process is clearly quite advanced and whoever did create it undoubtedly anticipated all sorts of potential scenarios when it came to the DNA templation and mental programming of such bioroids," Negako added. "I do believe you will find Tariko to be far more accommodating towards your emotional needs and desires than any of your previous would-be life-mates, Kanami."

"Hey!" Kanami snapped. "I don't want a love slave, for Heaven's sake!"

"Relax, Kanami. I'm not a love slave."

Eyes locked on Tariko. "But . . . " Kanami began.

A giggle. "I was actually created from a fragmented element of Ataru's own mind which was split away from the core of his soul thanks to Onē-san being forced into his head," Tariko explained. "And while I feel like you do - a boy now permanently living in a girl's body - the 'pre-programming' that came with this body was quite thorough and is helping me adjust to it a lot more easily than if I went the Jusenkyō route."

"You needed someone who could truly understand what you're going through. AND at the same time, not make you feel pressured into doing things you don't want to do," Dean added. "After all, do you see yourself dating any guy in the near future?"

"Hell, no!" Kanami spat out.

"My point," the major then stated. "In Tariko, you have a woman who, in the core of her soul, is a boy just like you. A boy who, in his own way, has endured many awful things, just like you. A boy who also is a martial artist thanks to Negako's influence and would be a hell of a better sparring partner than Akane ever was." Dean then winked. "And she'll be there for you in all other sorts of ways, too."

Kanami blinked. "You mean . . .?"

"Tariko is technically an orphan as her parents have effectively rejected her brother, thus ultimately rejecting her," Negako stated. "She has endured hardship in growing up by proxy given what Ataru has endured thanks to his taking up the Promise of Bunka Go-nen. And she is a woman, a 'bearer of life' as the Seekers addressed such beings as. Thus, she is qualified to be a Jewel Warrior. Just as you are."

Kanami stared at the effective grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū for a moment, and then she lowered her eyes. "Now I know how Akane felt."

"What do you mean?" Ataru wondered.

"Why she was so determined to hang onto me even if she didn't care for the engagement at all," she said. "I was literally HANDED to her as her fiancé when we met at the dōjō all those months ago by her sisters. It's just like everything else that's pretty much happened in her life, I guess. So she didn't want to let it go. Now I've been handed a 'fiancée' in my own right . . . " She gazed apologetically at Tariko. "And I just don't want to let her go, even at this early stage of the game."

"You need time to adjust to this new reality of your life," Negako stated. "You also require time to fully expunge your feelings for Akane from your mind and heart if you are to truly be free of any influence from your former family and acquaintances in Nerima. And you need the opportunity to experience forging a relationship on your own, without any undue influence from those who believe themselves to be wiser than you. That is the primary reason Tariko was created; she can give you that opportunity in a way no other living being on Earth to either Deannette's or my knowledge could."

"Besides, you also need someone to watch your back," Tariko added as she gazed in amusement at Kanami. "Even if you took a gun to Mousse and Hibiki to drive them off, what's to stop the rest of that loon crowd over in Nerima from trying to get their pound of flesh out of you for whatever reason strikes their fancy? Especially the Kunō siblings? They consider themselves totally above the law in that case."

A moan. "Yeah, that's true."

"I am sure the right words in the right ear could make both Tatewaki and Kodachi leave you be," Negako stated. "In fact, I do believe Ranma has already done something to that regard by revealing his relationship to Henry to Tatewaki's man-servant."

"Sasuke?" Kanami asked, and then she smirked. "Well, let's hope it works."

The others all nodded . . .

* * *

Nerima, Okonomiyaki U-chan's, that evening . . .

"Hibiki did WHAT?"

Akane sighed. "He pretended to be my pet piglet, P-chan!" she growled out. "He followed Ranma to Jusenkyō and got cursed almost right after Ranma did. He blamed Ranma for it - Ranma was going berserk after he got cursed and didn't see where he was going when he ran into the pig! - and decided to use his curse as a way to try to get at Ranma through me!" She took a deep breath before taking the tea offered to her by Konatsu and drinking from it. "And what's worse, the bastard played up on Ranma's naïveté and made him promise never to say anything about his curse to me!"

Hearing that, Kuonji Ukyō sighed. "Because it's a weakness, right?"

"Yeah," Ranma said as he picked on his okonomiyaki with his chopsticks.

After taking a moment to consider that, the chef from Kansai could only shake her head. "What an idiot! I knew he had a crush on you, but I never thought he was willing to do something perverted like THAT!" she spat out. "So what did you do?"

"Made it very clear that he was no longer welcome at the house," Nabiki stated. All the Tendō daughters had come out with Ranma to Ukyō's establishment to have a quiet dinner away from home as Kasumi had not been in the mood to cook after today's events. "Having a sword stabbed into his side when he was strapped down on the bed and unable to move was quite persuasive. Not to mention him being shot three times by Kanami!"

Ukyō jerked. "WHAT? You mean it's true? Ka-chan's using a GUN?"

"Of course. After all, Raeburn-shōsa also uses firearms even if she does have a Power Jewel," Kasumi stated. "She currently has a training weapon, not a full-bore firearm. But given how fast Kanami-chan - if she's anything like Ranma-kun in that regard - can learn, I believe she'll be making use of a proper firearm very soon."

Silence fell as the people there considered that, and then Ukyō breathed out, "Oh, man! I can't believe we screwed up THAT badly when it came to her!"

"We did," Nabiki stated. "Fortunately, though, she's under the guidance of someone who knows what it feels like to be orphaned and left alone in the world."

Konatsu nodded. "Hai. If anyone can truly help Kanami-sama in this time, it is Raeburn-shihan, not to mention the Ultimate Grandmaster herself." Everyone in the room knew that the phrase "ultimate grandmaster" was reserved for Moroboshi Negako given how she was initially created and how much knowledge she had acquired in the eight hundred years before she finally became fully sentient. "I doubt not even the Kunō siblings will be willing to do much concerning Kanami-sama in the face of that."

"I don't know, especially with those two," Nabiki warned.

"Have you talked to Sasuke about it, 'Natsu?" Ranma asked.

A nod. "Hai. Oji-san did inform both his master and mistress of your blood-relationship with Jones-hakase. They actually were quite impressed by your willingness to 'come clean' about your American relatives in spite of your mother's wishes to the contrary." A sigh. "Unfortunately, Tatewaki-sama now has another reason to see you and Akane-sama broken apart given the 'foul taint' in your blood, Ranma-sama. And while Kodachi-sama has been cautioned away from pursuing you further, I doubt she'll take heed. As to what they might do to Kanami-sama, I cannot say."

Ranma breathed out. "Well, if they want to eat lead, that's their choice."

"You think Kanami'll use a gun on them?" Akane asked.

"You can count on it, Akane," he replied. "It's just like Kasumi-san said. She's as quick as I am when it comes to learning new things. And she'll have more than enough cause to put those two idiots down if they press it against her. Especially if they end up hurtin' someone on the sidelines like any of Kanami's classmates."

"I better warn Kunō-chan to have his will ready before he tries anything," Nabiki stated before she sipped her tea.

"Why?" Ukyō demanded.

The middle Tendō daughter smirked. "I may love fleecing the idiot for every last yen he has, but I don't want him dead, Ukyō," she said. "Too much paperwork."

The others gazed at her, and then they laughed . . .

* * *

The Nerima ward offices, Monday morning . . .

"Thank you for agreeing to see me today, Natsume-san."

The dietman who had been elected to represent District Nine of Metropolitan Tōkyō in the House of Representatives bowed his head respectfully to Nodoka before he waved her to a chair. "Please, Saotome-san! I'm more than willing to set aside time for you; your family's support for our party has always been greatly appreciated," Natsume Akira stated as he moved to take his seat, and then he nodded permission for his secretary to prepare tea for his guest. "What seems to be the problem?"

"There are actually several problems that now face my family, sir. I hope that you could assist in resolving these issues and restoring things for my family to the way they've always been," Nodoka stated before nodding thanks as the secretary handed her the cup of tea before she withdrew from the office. "The primary one is this: My manly son Ranma has been very grossly deceived by a gaijin professor who has tricked him into abandoning ALL familial links to my family." As the dietman gaped at her - the very concept of abandoning one's parents was quite loathsome in Japanese culture - she added, "Even more so, the Tendō family has been literally torn apart because of this matter; my husband's good friend Tendō Sōun was forced out of his home by his daughters and the eldest of them, Kasumi-chan, arranged for my manly son to be transferred to the Tendō family _koseki_ pending his marriage to the youngest daughter, Akane-chan. And the people at the local family registrar office refuse to correct the matter and restore my manly son to where he belongs." A tired sigh. "I would hope and pray that you could influence those people to have that matter corrected, then contact someone in the Justice Ministry to have this professor expelled from the country once and for all time. I fear that if this is _not_ done as quickly as practicable, the damage to both my family and the Tendō family will be everlasting."

"I see . . . " the LDP representative for Nerima breathed out, and then he asked, "May I ask the name of this professor that has caused you such distress?"

"Henry Walton Jones, Jr. He is often nicknamed 'Indiana.'"

Silence.

"Nodoka-san, that will be a big problem."

Nodoka jolted. "Why?"

"Jones-hakase is highly respected in the academic community here in Japan for his work in archaeological studies both before and after the Greater East Asia War," Representative Natsume stated. "Atop that, the man was awarded the Americans' highest decoration of bravery, the Medal of Honour. He received that award for most incredible services he performed during the Italian campaign in 1943 and 1944. The Americans would be most upset on hearing such a vile accusation being made against one of their most famous war heroes, even if it is coming from someone such as yourself."

"He MUST be removed from the country!" Nodoka hissed. "At ONCE!"

The dietman winced on hearing that passionate demand from his current visitor, and then he immediately moved to calm her down. "Nodoka-san, please!" He had always done his best to maintain good relations with the older samurai-descent families of the district such as the Saotome and the Tendō; even if they weren't as wealthy as the Kunō Clan, they still held a considerable amount of respect with the average voting public. Ensuring the votes still came in whenever election time came around was always necessary, especially in these days with support for the Liberal Democrats at such an all-time low. "I will get someone to look into this right away and we'll contact you when we have come to comprehend everything and moved to have it all resolved."

Hearing that, Nodoka then relaxed, giving her host a smile. "Arigatō, Akira-san. I know you're the right sort of person to deal with this terrible problem."

A deep bow of the head and upper body. "You are too kind to me, Nodoka-san."

Soon enough, the matriarch of the Saotome Clan was escorted out of the office. As soon as he was alone, Natsume took a breath before picking up his phone and dialling a number. It was answered on the second ring. "Moshi-moshi. Nerima Ward Family Registrar Office. Ariyoshi speaking," the man who had picked up the phone answered.

Natsume smiled. "Ariyoshi-san, this is Representative Natsume Akira."

"Ah, Natsume-san! What seems to be the problem?"

"I have a question concerning the family of Saotome Nodoka-san."

Silence.

"What about that family?" the other man asked in a neutral tone.

It was one the dietman was quick to detect. "Is there something wrong?"

"Hai. We had to do a considerable update on that person's whole family just yesterday given a most disturbing discovery concerning her ancestry."

More silence.

"You mean they're . . .?" Natsume sputtered.

A surprised chuckle. "Oh, no, Natsume-san! She's not _that_, of course!" As both men shared a rather relieved laugh - dealing with potential burakumin problems were always quite upsetting in the long run - the registrar clerk then added, "But she _is_ part-American through her late father, Saotome Ichirō! It turns out her paternal grandfather is none other than the famous American archaeologist, Indiana Jones!"

Still more silence.

"What?" Natsume gasped.

The registrar official quickly picked up on the echo of shock in the dietman's voice. "Is there some reason you're asking about this, sir?"

The dietman blinked. "Explain everything about Saotome-san's relationship to Jones-hakase to me, please! And please explain why this was kept secret?"

On the other end of the phone line, Ariyoshi Hideyoshi found himself grinning; he had been quick to realise that the woman in question had no doubt just visited the dietman demanding certain things be put back to the way they were.

Well, too bad for her.

"Well, Natsume-san, it goes pretty much like this," he began . . .

* * *

Fūrinkan High School . . .

"You threw your own FATHER out of your house?"

"Do you blame them, Yuka-chan?" Asano Sayuri then demanded. "Especially after they found out what that bastard Hibiki was doing behind Akane-chan's back?"

Hearing that, Tokoro Yuka blinked, and then she nodded. "So why is it you never told Akane-chan about what Hibiki was doing, man?" Chanpatsu Hiroshi asked Ranma.

He sighed. "I found out about Ryōga's curse just after he tried to bushwhack me at the Tendō place the night after we had our first big fight on the front lawn here," Ranma explained. "When I realised I was the one who had knocked him into that spring, well . . . " A sheepish shrug. "It's a horrible vulnerability to have. And in many ways, it's not right to tell anyone about that type of weakness even if he is your enemy. So he made me vow to not say a word about it." He gave Akane an apologetic look. "Of course, right after that, Akane found him and adopted him as 'P-chan.'"

"He used your honour to trap you, you mean?" Bosabosa Daisuke noted.

"Yeah."

The others shook their heads. "Damn, man! How much have you been takin' hits because other jerks pulled fast ones like that on you?" Hiroshi demanded.

"Well, he's the big one. There were a few others," Ranma noted.

"So what did you do to the creep, Akane-chan?" Sayuri then asked.

"Oh, threatened to stab his heart with the Saotome Clan sword," Akane stated. "He was already in intensive care; Kanami put him there. Three shots from her pistol. One to the bridge of the nose, one to each wrist. The doctors believe he may not get the strength back to use his umbrella or fight with his hands because of it. Given how tough the stupid pig is, though . . . "

Silence.

"Oh, man! She shot him, too?" Daisuke exclaimed.

"He probably bumped into her close to where she was living," Ranma mused. "She probably didn't want to deal with him - or most likely had one of her friends from Azuma High School with her - so she elected to put him down, fast and dirty."

"Azuma High School?"

Everyone turned as Ninomiya Hinako came up to them, currently in adult form thanks to some "willing" delinquents who were harassing some freshmen girls. "Yeah, that's where Kanami is right now, Sensei," Ranma reported. "Don't know which class she's in or anything like that; Obaba's and Ojiji's lawyers made it pretty clear that none of us were to go over to Taitō to bother her. That also includes going over to Adachi to try to see her when she's going to or coming from school."

Hinako hummed. "Do you know a Tanizaki Yukari, by any chance?"

He blinked. "Yukari-chan? Sure! I met her once when Akane went a little crazy with the mallet; that's when I also met Mihama Chiyo-chan and her friends."

The English teacher and ki-vampire smiled. "Yukari-chan and her best friend Kurosawa Nyamo-chan were classmates of mine in teacher's college. I'm glad that Kanami-kun is with someone who can really help her build a life for herself."

"Are they good teachers, Sensei?" Akane asked.

A nod. "Nyamo-chan is about the best physical education teacher that's come down the pike in a couple decades, Akane-kun. Yukari-chan's undisciplined - and the most reckless driver you'll EVER meet! - but she has a heart of gold underneath it all. I think Kanami-kun will do well if she gets either of them as her homeroom teacher." Hinako groaned. "I just only hope that she manages to avoid Kimura!"

"Who's Kimura?" Hiroshi wondered.

"The classics teacher there," Hinako snarled as a tendon on her forehead pulsated. "And a man who became a teacher because he LOVES HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS!"

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"Guess Kanami-chan didn't get away from it all," Daisuke mused.

"She's be okay, Dai," Ranma stated.

Akane, Sayuri and Yuka nodded at that . . .

* * *

Azuma High School, that moment . . .

"Ano . . . Kanami-chan?"

"Hai, Nyamo-sensei?"

"Don't you think that was a little TOO harsh?" Kurosawa Minamo then asked as all the girls in the combined second year gym class all found themselves sweating.

Kanami blinked several times, and then she looked at the ki mallet she had just manifested to bash one Kimura Hyōsuke out of the pool and into the northern sky. "Well, if guys did _that_ back at Fūrinkan High, all the girls would be fighting for the chance to bash them straight into low Earth orbit," she explained as she dispelled the weapon before walking over to stand beside Mihama Chiyo and Kasuga Ayumu.

"Hey, Kanami-chan! Can you teach us how to do that?" Takino Tomo asked.

Eyes locked on Class 2-3's resident wildcat, and then they focused once more on the redhead. "Let me talk to Sensei first, Tomo-chan. Okay?"

"Cool!"

The other girls laughed as Minamo moaned . . .

* * *

Nerima, the Tendō home . . .

"I am truly sorry that it had to come to this, Shimura-kuchō."

"Do not apologise for this, Tendō-hime," the ward mayor of Nerima, Shimura Toshirō, said as he returned Kasumi's deep bow of apology with his own respectful bow. "Until you finally were forced to accept what was happening here as something that simply could not be allowed, you were powerless to do anything about it. I'm sure that once this matter is brought up before the ward council - even though it _will_ have to be swiftly acted upon - it will not reflect badly on yourself or your sisters, much less your future brother-in-law." He then relaxed himself before taking up the cup of tea Kasumi had prepared for him, and then he sipped from it. "If I may ask, where exactly is your father at this time if he is not being allowed to live here?"

"With his friend Saotome Genma at their family home," Kasumi stated as she took a deep breath to calm herself. As she was now truly the _de facto_ head of the Tendō Clan here in Nerima - Nabiki was moving to help her become the _de jure_ head, though such would take some time - she had to act to ensure the potential ramifications of what Sōun had done to besmirch the family honour had to be either deflected away or answered for in a proper and truthful manner. Fortunately for her, she had acquired a reputation as being a fundamentally honest and hard-working person, having sacrificed so much for her family's benefit, so very few in Nerima were loath to do anything to see Kasumi hurt. "We have made it quite clear that because of this and other matters that had brought a stain to our family honour that Otō-san will have to remain there until he properly acknowledges his faults, renounces all future plans to interfere in any of our lives . . . and most of all, renounces his friendship with Oji-san once and for all time as a way of forcing him to face up to all HIS mistakes.

"I've already contacted Ojii-sama about this . . . " - that was Kasumi's maternal grandfather, Miyamoto Shigeru, a retired investor who had helped pay for the Tendō property and the construction of the family dōjō as a wedding present for his late daughter Kimiko when she married Tendō Sōun - " . . . and he has promised to give us as much support as he can so that we can weather through this without major loss of property. As for Happōsai-ojiisan . . . " A tired sigh then escaped her. "We have not seen him around since we forced Otō-san and Oji-san out of the house, so I have no idea whatsoever concerning how he might react at the removal of his two latest students from the grounds." A smirk. "Hopefully, he'll leave us and move over to the Saotome home so he can focus his attention on Otō-san and Oji-san, but I doubt such will happen. He's rather quieted down a bit since Kanami-chan left us, but he's also been making noise recently about trying to get her to move back to Nerima from Taitō."

"Ah, yes! Young Ranma-kun's magically-created sister, you mean?" At Kasumi's nod, the mayor sighed. "I spoke with my opposite number in Taitō about Kanami-chan shortly after she was allowed to assume that identity and was resettled there. As far as Yoshizumi-san is concerned, that there is now a living heiress to the Hayashi Clan now resident at the family home near Ueno Park, all has to be done to make her happy and willing to stay. Thus, she was allowed to attend school in Adachi Ward since she has friends there." The mayor sipped his tea. "Of course, Raeburn-shōsa's presence might make things interesting, but I believe it won't be as bad as things have been here ever since Ranma-kun and his father returned home from their training trip."

"You're aware of Raeburn-shōsa having taken Kanami-chan as her student?"

"Hai! Yoshizumi-san was bragging about it at the weekly teleconference yesterday between all the special ward mayors!" As both people laughed, the mayor then hummed. "Still, there is one question he brought up. There's this other family temporarily staying with Kanami-chan at her home. They don't know much about them, but it appears to be three young people. A woman in her mid-twenties and two teenagers, a boy and a girl, fraternal twins by the looks of them. All in the last couple of days."

Kasumi hummed. "Well, if what Ranma-kun and Akane-chan learned from Jones-hakase is true, the older woman might be Moroboshi Negako-sensei. She was the entity that served the Imperial Family as 'Imperial Special Agent 49' during the Greater East Asia War." As Mayor Shimura gaped at her - it was an unwritten element of Japan's history at the time of the Shōwa Emperor's final surrender to the Allies in 1945 that a deadly killer, known only as "Imperial Special Agent 49," had gone forth to track down and murder all the secret elements of the Black Dragon Society that opposed the release of the _Gyokuon-hōsō_, the "Jewel Voice Broadcast" that finally brought that bloody war to a final end - Kasumi added, "Her origins are said to be even more unique than Raeburn-shōsa's, in fact. Master Hosan was involved in Negako-sensei's creation, in fact. The boy might be Negako-sensei's last host, Moroboshi Ataru-kun; he's also a friend of Ranma-kun's and Kanami-chan's. As to whom the girl might be, I can't say; I don't know about Ataru-kun, so I have no idea what his family might be like."

"Ah, I see. So Kanami-chan will have a pair of very effective teachers to take over from where the panty thief and his student left off."

A nod. "Hai. And thank the gods for that!" Kasumi then frowned. "We all never really sat back to think about what Kanami-chan's needs truthfully were. And all of Ranma-kun's so-called 'friends' simply turned around and decided she was a much easier target than he, so they went after her. Pity that Raeburn-shōsa is now teaching her all the wonders about firearms in preparing her to become a Jewel Warrior."

The mayor gaped. "Has she . . .?"

"Twice, neither of which resulted in fatalities," Kasumi cautioned. "Against two of Ranma-kun's more persistent and dishonourable rivals, Mousse and Hibiki Ryōga. I believe that in the wake of that, anyone else who might decide to bother her will think twice before going to Taitō to make a nuisance of themselves."

"I see. I best speak to Yoshizumi-san about this . . . "

* * *

Taitō, the Hayashi home, after classes . . .

"Teach all the girls how to make ki-mallets?"

Kanami laughed. "Yeah! The classics teacher at the place - real perverted creep named Kimura - barged into swimming class today and I belted him out of the pool with a mallet just like Akane loves to use all the time! Even if Nyamo-sensei thought it was a little harsh, all the girls wanted to learn how to make use of them!"

"That might actually be something you can do for yourself, Onē-san."

Eyes locked on the Moroboshi siblings, who were seated around the living room table enjoying dinner with Kanami and Dean. "What do you mean, Ataru?" Negako asked.

"You can become the self-defence teacher at the school," Ataru proposed. "Yeah, we got some funds that Obā-chan left us, but that won't last long. I doubt Oji-chan will want to do anything to support us given how much he hates Baka Kā-san and Baka Tō-san like he does, so we really can't ask for support from the Inshin Group." That was the keiritsu that had been founded by Ataru's late grandmother, Moroboshi Nagaiwakai, which was centred on a very successful bank that operated on universally-accepted financial rules (Inshin Bank) and a combined investment, trust and mortgage company (Toranoseishin Finances). "We can't lean on Kanami forever, you know."

"There are ways to obtain the necessary monetary funds to keep both yourself and Tariko hale and hearty, Ataru. Pay it no mind," Negako stated. "We should have our new home purchased and constructed by the time summer vacation begins. Kanami, does Chiyo intend to invite all of you to her summer home in Kamogawa this year?"

A nod. "Yeah. Kaorin can't make it since the Astronomy Club is going out on their own trip at the time we'd be at Chiyo-chan's cabin, but everyone else'll be there." Summer vacation would start at the end of the current school week.

"Excellent," Negako stated. "Since I have no real desire to spend any time close to the open ocean, I will make sure the house is properly prepared while Ataru and Tariko will accompany you to Kamogawa. I would assume, Deannette, you will be accompanying Kanami to Kamogawa so you can make use of the time to train her."

"If Chiyo won't mind it, of course," Dean stated before sipping her tea.

"Can you drive a car, Sensei?" Kanami asked.

The Canadian smirked. "Kiddo, when I was flying with the Saskatchewans, we ALL had to be ALSO qualified on the Sopwith Canada V-12 roadster," she declared. "That was the flying team's ground support vehicle whenever we had to deploy from quarters to the airfield to get into our planes whenever there was no quarters within quick walking distance of the strip in Britain." As the others gaped at her, Dean then smirked. "I think I can get a hold of a special four-seat coupé version of the V-12 for the trip."

"Do you have a license?" Ataru wondered.

"International driver's permit; I can get that renewed real quick."

Hearing that, Kanami, Ataru and Tariko all breathed out. "So we all can avoid the Yukari-mobile for this trip!" the latter then mused before sipping her miso soup.

Dean blinked. "Is she really that bad?"

Kanami chuckled as she gazed on the older woman. "Sensei, let me put it to you this way: If she was ever given one of those monster trucks they love to use over in America, Yukari-chan would flatten all of Tōkyō in under ten minutes!"

"Oh . . . gotcha."

* * *

At an apartment in Adachi Ward . . .

"AH-CHOO!"

* * *

Nerima, the Tendō home . . .

"Jones-hakase! Please, come in! Come in!"

Indiana smiled as he tipped his hat off to Kasumi. "I apologise for intruding on your family home like this," he said with a bow, and then he moved to present a wrapped gift to the eldest Tendō daughter. "It isn't much, but I felt it appropriate."

Kasumi's cheeks instantly ripened to the shade of cherries. "Oh, Jones-hakase! You didn't have to do something like this!" she protested, though she did take the gift that was offered by the American. "Please, come inside! Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some," he said as he moved to slip off his shoes, and then he walked in to see his great-grandson sitting at the table, along with his future great-granddaughter-in-law and her elder sister. "Konban wa, minna-chan."

"Konban wa, Jones-hakase," Nabiki said as she bowed her head politely to Indiana. "Welcome to our home. We didn't expect you to come visit us."

"I heard from a local friend about what you had to do to your father," the archaeologist stated as he sat down at the head of the table while Kasumi came back in, a tea tray in hand with cups ready to be served. "Lord knows, I didn't want my coming here to Japan to end up destroying a whole family - excuse me, TWO whole families! - along the way! I just hope that this won't end up becoming permanent."

"That will have to depend on Otō-san, of course. Not to mention Oba-san," Kasumi said as she moved to serve tea. "And you're certainly NOT at fault when it comes to our family problems, Jones-hakase. The reason we felt we had no choice but to expel Otō-san from the house was the fact that he kept a very vital and potentially dishonourable secret from Akane-chan concerning a 'friend' of hers, Hibiki Ryōga. Like your great-grandson, Hibiki-san is a victim of Jusenkyō, but he used his cursed form to invade Akane-chan's private space in a most disgusting manner, all in hopes of trying to force her and Ranma-kun apart so he could press his own petty vendetta against him."

Indiana hummed. "He's the one who becomes a piglet, right?"

"Hai."

"Kanami told you that?" Akane asked.

"She did. She warned me of all the people affected by those springs," Indiana said as he nodded his thanks as Kasumi handed him a cup of tea. After a sip, he relaxed himself. "Why on Earth wouldn't your father try to protect your sister?"

"He wished to make Ranma-kun jealous so that he would better come to love Akane-chan," Kasumi stated. "At least, that was the excuse Otō-san made. He clearly didn't understand a thing about how little Ranma-kun really understood things and he clearly didn't take the time to realise that if Hibiki-san suffered an accident and his curse - and his being Akane-chan's 'pet' - became public knowledge, she would be grossly dishonoured to the point where Ranma-kun's mother would have had no choice but to put a total stop to the engagement between them," A sigh. "Much that I don't particularly care for your granddaughter's attitudes towards her own son, much less her place in this society, she does have her good points and would have been more than justified to do that if Hibiki-san's curse and his 'relationship' with Akane-chan went public."

Indiana sighed. "God, is there _any_ hope for her . . .?"

"Personally, I say no," Nabiki answered.

He gazed at her. "Why do you say that?"

"She's a control fanatic," the middle Tendō daughter replied. "This all stems from what Oji-chan did to drag Ranma-kun off so he can make his 'man above men.' When Ranma-kun was ripped away from her and that piece of paper with the seppuku pledge was left behind, Oba-chan came to feel that she had no choice but to adhere to what was promised if she had any hope of seeing her boy again. Well, once he got back and we got the problem with his curse 'resolved,' she fell right into form. And there was no one around who was influential enough to make her open her eyes and see what was really going on around her. Ranma-kun was just happy to have his mom back. Akane-chan was happy to have a new mother figure in her life; we lost ours years ago to cancer. And Kanami-chan . . . " Here, she paused before breathing out, "Well, we tried to care for her, but it wasn't enough. Thankfully, Oji-chan's parents made some pretty airtight provisions concerning her when she decided she had enough and left, so she's got a whole new life of her own to build, one that can't be affected by anyone else."

"So Nodoka is probably hurting because of Kanami, right?"

"She is," Ranma stated. "But there's really nothin' that can be done in that regard. Ojiji's and Obaba's wills made it pretty clear; since Ofukuro broke her promise to them and to her own parents to raise me 'properly' by agreeing to Oyaji's stupid seppuku pledge, she lost all rights to be either my mother or Kanami's. And there's no way to try to make up with her; Kanami's lawyers laid the law down real hard on all of us and promised jail time for all of us if we tried to violate it." A sigh. "Atop that, she doesn't seem to realise that I don't particularly care for some of her ideas about being 'manly,' especially if it involves doin' things with girls other than my fiancée." A smirk. "Look at all the trouble you're going through right now, Hiijii-chan."

Rueful laughter echoed over the table. "Perhaps all Oba-san needs is a stern elderly hand to make her realise that she is in the wrong in this case," Kasumi then mused. "After all, her parents clearly didn't give her that guidance. Nor would her great-grandparents in the short period they were alive after she was born."

"Are you saying I should put her over my knee and spank her?" Indiana asked.

"That actually might not be a bad idea," Nabiki noted.

Laughter. "Well, not that extreme, but perhaps we could do something that would be just as effective," Kasumi stated. "The mayor of Nerima visited the house earlier today and told me that Oba-san visited Dietman Natsume Akira to try to get everything we've recently done reversed. Of course, he contacted the Family Registrar office right after that meeting, then learned the truth of her relationship to you, Jones-hakase." The elder daughter then hummed. "Perhaps . . . " she trilled.

"Perhaps what?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, since Oba-chan is a quarter-American and it was her grandmother's wish that her father was raised in the United States . . . "

Silence fell as everyone considered that, and then Akane gaped. "You mean force her out of the country and to America with Hiijii-chan?" she demanded.

"Why not?" Kasumi asked.

Indiana blinked. "Um, Tendō no Mae, I'm a little old . . .!"

Instant blush time! "Oh, MY!" Kasumi gasped on realising that the visiting archaeologist from Connecticut just called her "Dame Tendō."

More laughter. "You mean force Ofukuro on a training trip with Hiijii-chan?" Ranma then asked as he crossed his arms.

"Well, not actually go so far as a training trip as you would understand it, Ranma-kun, but at least force your mother to be denied things that she would see as familiar and comforting," Kasumi stated. "As he is her oldest living relative, Jones-hakase here can be seen - in the traditional Japanese manner - as the head of her clan. His decisions concerning her would possess great moral weight. And her late grandmother _DID_ want her own child with Jones-hakase - who is Oba-san's _father_, by the way! - to be raised in America and away from Japan. Those wishes were not honoured."

"I can't kidnap her and drag her to America, Kasumi-chan!" Indiana protested.

"No, but there is someone who might be able to persuade her to see things in a new light, Jones-hakase," Kasumi stated. "Moroboshi Negako-sensei."

"Why Negako?" Ranma asked.

"Remember what she is, Ranma-kun," the eldest Tendō daughter stated. "Imperial Special Agent 49, the direct servant of the Son of Heaven himself. You're not the only one who has read about the _Saik__ō__ Jinseijutsu_ and the powers she possesses. It might be within Negako-sensei's abilities to be able to link with your great-grandmother's spirit and let your mother hear from her own grandmother what she wanted to have happen. And if she's not capable of doing it, perhaps Raeburn-shōsa might."

Ranma blinked as he considered that, and then he slowly nodded. "Yeah, that might be somethin' we could do. But you better remember one thing, Kasumi-san."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Negako don't like being called 'sensei.'"

The others all gaped at him . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_


	7. Chapter 7

Taitō, the Hayashi home, early the next morning . . .

"You would desire me to do . . . _what_?"

"To find some way to speak to Miyami's spirit to convince Nodoka that she has to finally let go of the militarist-like propaganda her parents and great-grandparents forced on her," Indiana repeated as he gazed at Negako across the living room table. Kanami had gone off to school, as had Ataru and Tariko; this would be the first day of school for the Moroboshi siblings at Azuma High. Dean herself was relaxing at the table enjoying a cup of coffee. "You told me that the curse has got her and she can't escape what happened to her relatives." A sigh. "If we find some way to shock her into realising what's really happening to her, it could save her."

The current _de jure_ grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū - a special Imperial Rescript declaring her as such had been issued by the Emperor the previous day, circulated both in the daily newspapers and over the Internet so that the other senior martial arts instructors and leaders across Japan would know of this - considered that for a moment, and then she nodded. "It could potentially work. All Nodoka truthfully had when she was taught about her past were the statements of her parents and great-grandparents. Miyami was not alive at the time and whatever physical evidence of her wishes concerning Ichirō would have been destroyed well before that time." She then hummed. "It is curious to me as to how Hisayo was able to learn the truth."

"Her future in-laws did a much more thorough investigation of the Saotome Clan history than Ichirō's family expected," Indiana explained. "They learned about me right away, then contacted me to learn my side of the story. When Hisayo herself was told the truth, she gladly accepted the Asagaya name and renounced all relations to the Saotome Clan on the threat of making their relationship with me go public." A shake of his head. "As they aren't as powerful as they like to think they are, that shut them up pretty much for good. She only saw her father once more after that; when he was on his deathbed, she brought Rikako and Seiko to the hospital to let them see him."

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"She basically warned the girls that what happened to Ichirō was the result of what _**lying**_ would eventually do to them," the American archaeologist replied. "That pretty much was the _coup de grace_ for my son; he died that evening. And Hisayo and her daughters haven't spoken to any of their relatives ever since that time." He shook his head. "Much that I understand why people would be upset at what happened when Miyami and I got drunk that night, to blow it out of proportion like THIS . . . "

"Henry, may I make a recommendation?"

"What?"

Negako smiled. "Take Ranma and Akane on a training trip."

The two non-Japanese people in the living room blinked on hearing the grandmaster's suggestion. "An archaeological dig?" Dean asked.

"Indeed. Summer vacation for public schools will commence this weekend and continue for a month. That should be more than enough time to give both Ranma and Akane exposure to what you and your other relatives do for a living. And if such news gets to Happy, much less Nodoka . . . " Here, Negako's eyes narrowed. "They would be both put quite off by such a thing. Happy because he would see Ranma's taking interest in something other than the Art as a direct threat to the future of his school. Nodoka because her son and future daughter-in-law are spending time with a relative she wishes not to acknowledge as her own, thus entrenching the 'lies' you wish to espouse about her family ancestry. Since both would move to try to stop this, you could then show yourself in a more favourable light, not just to Ranma and Akane, but all the others who care for them in Nerima. That would win you allies and isolate both Happy and Nodoka to the point where they will have no choice but to alter their own attitudes or else lose all they care for." She then held up a finger in emphasis. "At _that_ time would I recommend you bring Miyami into the situation to make Nodoka see the light. This will grant me the time to properly prepare such a ceremony as forcing a departed spirit to temporarily cross back from the Dào will require considerable efforts."

The archaeologist considered that, and then he nodded. "Alright . . . "

* * *

Nerima, the Tendō home, later . . .

"So you threw them out of the house, eh?"

"We had no choice, Ojii-san," Kasumi stated as she prepared tea for Happōsai. "Their knowledge of Hibiki-san's curse and their failure to warn Akane-chan about it - especially after he began to pretend to be 'P-chan' - is something that could not be tolerated, much less forgiven. Especially on the flimsy excuse of trying to make Ranma-kun jealous enough so that he could go forth and declare his love for Akane-chan. How on Earth was he supposed to understand that sort of thing? That foolish father of his never taught him anything about dealing with women, so what could he conclude on seeing what was happening? All he understood was that Hibiki-san was violating Akane-chan's private space. Since he was tricked into keeping Hibiki-san's curse a secret, Ranma-kun couldn't come out and say what was happening; his sense of honour forbade it!"

Hearing that, the elderly grandmaster sighed. This was not good . . . but he was in no practical position to try to influence things back to the way they were before the whole damn mess had started with Kanami's creation. While he was still the most powerful and skilled martial artist currently residing in the Tendō home, he knew that he really had no influence on the attitudes of the four young people who still lived here. Much that he had tried to force Sōun to make his daughters comply with Happōsai's wishes, such had failed right from the get-go. Kasumi's own reputation in Nerima was as unbreakable as a flawless diamond; all she had to do was publicly state that she was in danger - which she had effectively done when she had Sōun removed from the home - and people would kill themselves to come to her aid. Nabiki, given her nigh-unquenchable thirst for information and her willingness to do anything to get same, could twist almost anyone else in the ward to her will if she felt herself threatened . . . and that extended to the police as well. Akane, even if her own skills were improving by the day, was pretty much protected by Ranma. And while Ranma's naïveté had been quite useful in the past, it was now clearly obvious to Happōsai that he was growing weary of being forced to acknowledge a master he had no respect for; in Ranma's eyes, the aged grandmaster was just as bad as his own father.

"So you can understand that things will change here, Ojii-san," Kasumi then stated as she picked up the tea tray and headed to the kitchen.

Happōsai tried not to wince on sensing the warning in his host's voice. _Damn!_ he hissed as he relaxed and sipped the offered tea. _What the hell do I . . .?_

He then jerked as something seemed to slam through his body, and then he collapsed unconscious on the floor, the tea cup dropping onto the table and spilling its contents over the surface. A moment later, Kasumi walked back into the living room, a mirthless smile about that. "I'm sorry about that, Ojii-san, but I think that you can understand why we would no longer desire to have _you_ in the house anymore," she stated, and then she turned to look at the doorway. "Konatsu-san?"

A certain cross-dressing ninja stepped inside, bowing low. "I would assume you desire him delivered over to the Saotome residence, Kasumi-sama?" he asked.

"Indeed. How long will the drug last?"

"Given his current state of health and the amount of ki inside his body at this time, I would say about eighteen hours," Konatsu reported after taking a moment to glance at the unconscious Happōsai. "That would be more than enough to allow me to convey your request to Negako-sama and have her come here to shield the home against any intrusion." He then took a deep breath. "I am pleased you are willing to allow both Ukyō-sama and I the chance to visit whenever we desire to do so. Much that I do realise how much the conflict of honour obligations between Ukyō-sama's family and your own is causing you all such distress, I know Ranma-sama does value her friendship."

"Which is part of the reason that I'm allowing this," the eldest Tendō daughter stated, her voice flecked with a warning tone. "Unlike Shampoo-chan, Ukyō-san has behaved with something akin to proper decorum. Warn her that if she slips, she'll be treated the very same way. Now, please, take Ojii-san and deliver that message."

A deep bow. "Hai." And with that, Konatsu and Happōsai both vanished.

Kasumi sighed as she turned to clean the mess up . . .

* * *

Taitō, the Hayashi home, a half-hour later . . .

"Enter, Konatsu."

Dean perked on hearing Negako's voice, and then she turned as an effeminate man in a rather tattered ninjutsu-ka's gi slipped in to place herself before her friend, he then bowing low to her. "Forgive me for my imposing myself on your time, Negako-sama," Konatsu stated as he turned to gaze reverently on the older-looking woman. "I bear a private request from Tendō Kasumi-sama for your assistance in ensuring that her family home - and all those currently resident there - will be protected in the future from any potential intrusion, especially from those possessing false honour claims to the hand of either Saotome Ranma-sama or Tendō Akane-sama."

He then handed her a letter with both hands, bowing his head in respect. Negako took the letter in hand and then opened it, scanning the short note there. "Ah, so Kasumi has forced Happy out of the house. I assume he is now being made to reside at the Saotome home with Genma, Nodoka and Sōun?" At Konatsu's nod, the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū took a deep breath. "You informed them of what can be done to ensure no possible intrusion from those they no longer wish to deal with?"

"Hai, I did. It is well-known that your Art possesses such knowledge."

Negako hummed. "Well, perhaps this will be the thing to prompt Happy to stop behaving like a fool and start taking his responsibilities more seriously than he did in the past," she stated. "Deannette, do you have seven mesonium crystals I may use?"

"Ruby or diamond?"

"One ruby, the remainder diamond."

Nodding, the Canadian air cavalry pilot concentrated for a moment. As Konatsu watched wide-eyed - his own ki senses were quick to detect the massive shift of energies around the Jewel Warrior - a small pile of crystals, each the size of a 500 yen coin, appeared in the palm of her hand. Dean then tossed them over to Negako, who caught them before rising. "Come, Konatsu. We have work to do," she stated.

"Hai!"

With that, both of them headed out of the house. Watching them go, Dean could only smirk before she reached into her shirt to pull out a cigar. "Happōsai, LEARN?" she wondered out loud before biting the tip off, spitting it into a nearby garbage can before moving to light it. "In a million fuckin' years, maybe . . . "

* * *

Fūrinkan High School . . .

"You're taking your great-grandson and your future great-granddaughter-in-law on an archaeological dig?" Ninomiya Hinako asked as she gazed on Indiana Jones.

"For the whole summer," the American stated as they relaxed in the teacher's lounge. "I've arranged for a trip to the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation Archaeological District in Ledyard near New London in Connecticut; my son will actually be the director of the trip. In the early days of my teaching career at Marshall, I helped identify some significant burial sites and village sites there. It's a pretty simple trip compared to some of my later adventures, but it's a good place to start off."

Hinako considered that before sipping her tea. She was currently in adult form, having absorbed the battle ki of both Kunō Tatewaki and his father when they tried to ambush Indiana on his arriving on the school grounds an hour before, then got mobbed by many screaming students who had flocked to him to get autographs. And while she was able to spend more and more time as an adult after absorbing ki, she knew she wouldn't last long. "What makes you think that you'll be able to persuade Saotome-kun to go along with this? Much that I do know of the current state of affairs between him and his parents, his prolonged training in the martial arts makes it next to impossible to interest him in other things. We've all tried here at Fūrinkan to make him take more interest in his academics, but it's been quite the uphill battle all the way. Granted, ever since he and his sister were separated, there has been some improvement . . . "

"Well, we have to work on that," Indiana cut in. "There are two reasons I want to do this, Ninomiya-san. One: To help Ranma take better interest in academics. In talking with him, I think I'm making him realise that because Genma never allowed him any choice in the matter of what he wanted to do with his life, he needs to branch out from the martial arts if he is to live a better life for himself under his control. Since Genma has been forcibly separated from him - as have Nodoka and Sōun - I think I stand a very good chance to succeed than others, including you and your co-workers, have done before." At Hinako's nod, he added, "And two: I'm also trying to find some way to save my granddaughter from the curse that's been killing off members of her family since after the end of the Second World War. You're aware of it, aren't you?"

"Saotome-kun and Tendō-kun described it to me," she affirmed with a nod.

"Then you know I have six months to try to reverse Nodoka's attitudes before Ranma permanently loses his mother. And much that I know he's become quite annoyed at her because of her attitudes towards him and how he wants to conduct his life, he doesn't want her dead. Hell, he doesn't even want Genma dead even after all he's done to him. All he wants there is for Genma to finally acknowledge his own mistakes and go correct them himself in lieu of constantly dumping them all over Ranma's shoulders."

"From what I know of your grandson-in-law, that's probably next to impossible," she warned as she sat back in her chair. "The man has lived his life believing that he can take and take and take from anyone that crosses his path without worrying about any sort of consequences. Anyone that comes along to challenge it, he forces it off all over his son. I doubt anyone will be able to do anything to make him see the light."

"Well, that's just too bad for him. As we speak, he's now marooned at the Saotome home, having been given both the Ultimate Weakness moxibustion and the Cat's Tongue pressure point treatment," he noted. "He's practically stuck as a panda and he effectively can't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. His friend is in the same state. Any attempts by Nodoka to force things back to the way they were won't wash now that the government - especially the local family registrar - are aware of what's going on."

"What about Happōsai?"

"He's being dealt with as well."

Hinako blinked, and then she smirked. "Too bad for . . . "

The door to the teacher's lounge then crashed open, revealing a very incensed Kunō Gōdai, barber shears in hand. "There you are, you naughty wahini!" he said in his Hawai'i-influenced pidgin Japanese. "Who gave you the right to . . .?"

"_**HAPP**__**Ō**__** GOJ**__**Ū**__**-EN SATSU!**_"

Indiana ducked as a torrent of ki surged past his shoulder to pass through the hole of Hinako's fifty yen coin and into her body. He then turned around to see a fully-drained Principal Kunō flutter helplessly to the floor, the small palm tree on his head drooping to one side as he passed out. Gazing at the unconscious Hawai'i-loving patriarch of the Kunō Clan of Ōizumi, the American blinked several times before he turned back to his host. "Aren't you risking being fired by doing that?"

"No, of course not," she said as she slipped the coin into her skirt pocket. "If I leave this place, he loses all control over the students here, especially all the delinquents. There are many of them who wouldn't shed a tear if he - not to mention his son - suffer a fatal 'accident' that will more than guarantee that all the family wealth will fall into Kodachi-chan's hands. That, they don't want at all." She then took a deep breath. "I'll have Saotome-kun and Tendō-kun excused from classes so you can visit them and tell them what you have in mind. I'm sure they would love taking a long break away from all the people harassing them all the time. Excuse me."

"You seem to like them," he noted, a smile crossing his face.

"Of course I do," she said as she rose to leave. "Much that I don't like the idea of any student engaging in any form of delinquency, it doesn't mean that I actually ENJOY draining their ki from them to make them behave. And despite his shoddy education before he came here, Saotome-kun does have his many endearing qualities. In a way, I can understand why Tendō-kun loves him so much. Hopefully, now that he will have a more POSITIVE adult role model in yourself in his life, he can finally dispose of all the bad habits he acquired thanks to his father and have a better future for himself. Please excuse me, Jones-hakase." She then bowed before stepping out.

He watched her go, and then chuckled . . .

* * *

The Saotome home, that evening . . .

"Wh-where am I . . .?"

"Are you alright, Master Happōsai?"

Happōsai's eyes fluttered open as he felt his strength come back to him, and then he looked around, quick noting the strange surroundings. "What the devil . . .?" he demanded as he slowly staggered to his feet. "What am I doing _here_?"

"I don't know," Nodoka stated as she moved to prepare evening tea. A glance at her made Happōsai grimace on seeing how much she seemed to have aged since he last saw her back at the Tendō home. "I found you unconscious on the front porch, along with your personal belongings in a large carpet bag. It's over there." She waved to the other side of the living room. After Happōsai looked himself to confirm it was there, he then moved to sit beside the table, nodding his thanks as she handed him a cup of tea. "There was no note or anything else to indicate why you had been brought here."

"Kasumi-chan knocked me out with some sort of drug in the tea she made for me," he noted, a touch of admiration in his voice. He had honestly not expected HER of all people to pull something like that on HIM of all people! "I'll just get that fool father of hers back over there to punish her properly for her impertinence."

"Master . . . "

He turned . . . and then moaned on seeing Sōun and Genma - the latter as a panda - looking as if everything that had given their lives meaning had been ripped out from their very souls. Of course, given how much Sōun had been grieving for his lost wife over the last decade, it wasn't the least bit surprising to the elder grandmaster that the exiled patriarch of the Tendō Clan was sobbing. A quick check of their ki signatures soon revealed what else had happened to them. "Ultimate Weakness moxibustion AND the Cat's Tongue pressure point, too?" he demanded before shaking his head in annoyance. "You blithering idiots! Why the hell didn't you stop those stupid kids of yours from doing that to you? Why didn't you stop them?"

"But M-master, w-w-we didn't expect th-them to d-d-DO that . . .!"

"_**OH, BE QUIET, YOU IDIOT!**_"

Sōun collapsed on the floor, wailing. "SŌUN!" Nodoka then shrilled, which made him leap up, his hands forming warding signs in a vain attempt to direct his host's anger elsewhere. "ACT YOUR AGE! HOW DARE YOU BE SO UNMANLY IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS? DO AS THE MASTER SAYS, GET OVER THERE, DISCIPLINE YOUR CHILDREN AND MAKE IT ALL RIGHT AGAIN! I WON'T TOLERATE YOU BEHAVING LIKE THIS IN MY HOUSE! NOW MOVE!"

(**WIFE, WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING!**) Genma then protested via a handy sign. (**DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO US WHEN WE EXPLAINED WHAT THE BOY DID TO US?**) He turned to Happōsai. (**MASTER, WE CAN'T FIGHT THE BOY IN THE STATE WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW!**) Sign twirl. (**DON'T YOU HAVE THE CHART TO REMOVE THE EFFECT OF THE MOXIBUSTION FROM US?**) Another sign twirl. (**IT'LL BE SUICIDE FOR US TO TRY TO CHALLENGE THE BOY NOW!**) And yet another sign twirl. (**YOU WON'T GET YOUR HEIR BACK THROUGH US IF WE CAN'T FIGHT HIM!**)

Happōsai's eyes narrowed. "So speaks - pardon me, _signs_! - the man who went and created the Sen-ken forms! Can't you use your brain to figure out a way to take off the effect of the moxibustion yourself or has your living at the Tendō home made you so damned lazy that you can't use your brain for anything else other than food and cheating at go?" As Genma stared in wide-eyed shock at the older man, he then turned back to his tea. "Besides, if you'll recall, the chart that shows the shiatsu point where the counter-moxibustion can be used - not to mention how it could be made - was destroyed when Ranma learned the Hiryū Shōten-ha from Cologne-chan! I don't remember what it indicated and I have no idea if any other such chart exists! Most likely, Ranma memorised the whole thing before it was destroyed; that's how he was able to use it against you two when the girls got tired of your stupidity when it came to Hibiki!"

Sōun moaned. "Wh-what do we do . . .?"

Instantly, the whole living room lit up with the ancient grandmaster's battle aura. "_**YOU DUNDERHEADS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING THERE? GET OVER THERE, MAKE YOUR CHILDREN ACCEPT YOU BACK AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN PROBLEMS! I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE IF I DON'T HAVE TO! NOW MOVE IT AND GET BACK INTO THAT HOUSE!**_"

Both of Happōsai's students wailed as they ran out of the living room. Nodoka sighed as she turned to her tea as he pulled out his pipe and began to smoke . . .

* * *

The Tendō home . . .

"So it's all based on ki and DNA, right?"

"Yes, Nabiki, it is," Negako stated. "The ruby mesonium crystal now in Kasumi's bedroom has been attuned to your individual DNA patterns and the DNA patterns of those you are willing to permit to visit the home. The diamond mesonium crystals at the corners of the property serve as 'ward stones' to form anchors for the defensive fields that now protect this home from unwanted intruders. The two crystals at either side of the main gate will allow you to temporarily deactivate the field when you desire to allow someone to enter the property that is not keyed into the central stone. And you have been taught how to temporarily shut down the field when those instances occur."

"So no more holes in the wall thanks to Shampoo, much less Sasuke sneaking in here to spy on us for Kunō-chan and his sister," Nabiki said. "That should save us quite a bit of money in maintenance costs." A snort then escaped her. "It wasn't as much as what throwing Oji-chan out of this place has saved us, but it still helps."

"Would Cologne know how to defeat this system?" Akane asked.

"No," Negako stated. "Kělún may have samples of your DNA - hail samples being the most likely source - but she needs to find a source of ebony mesonium to overpower the protective fields. And using _that_ form of mesonium comes with enormous risks."

"What sort of risks?" Ranma wondered.

"Permanent insanity."

The Tendō sisters and their future in-law nodded in understanding. "Well, that's good," Kasumi mused. "Much that I do understand why Shampoo-chan would be so insistent on pursuing a relationship with Ranma-kun, she - not to mention her great-grandmother and Mousse-kun as well - have to learn that they can't force their laws on other people at a whim. What might happen if they challenge someone who's far too strong for them to overcome? Much less has the right sort of connections in China to convince the People's Liberation Army to sweep in to destroy the village? After all, do they have defences against nuclear missiles or bombs dropped from aircraft?" As the others shuddered on hearing of the one thing Japanese never wanted to have happen on their home soil ever again, the elder daughter then turned to bow to the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu. "Thank you again for your assistance, Negako-sama."

Negako nodded. "It was not difficult. Oh, Ranma . . . "

"Yeah?"

"If Happy proves to be too obstinate when it comes to exercising any sort of authority over you, simply inform him that I will be more than pleased to take both yourself and Akane on as my students in Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"You'd do that for me . . .?"

Ranma was now staring wide-eyed at Negako. "I would," she stated with a nod. "You possess remarkable talent and even greater potential. In some ways, you could even give Deannette herself a challenge when she is not making use of a Power Jewel to augment her considerable strengths. All it requires is fine-tuning, not to mention the final removal of certain habits you acquired over the years under Genma's tutelage." She then gazed on Akane. "You as well, Akane." As the youngest Tendō daughter began to glow in the early evening with pride, Negako added, "You have your several habits to rid yourself of, but your potential is almost as great as your paramour's. Given that Happy is simply incapable of teaching you properly due to his affliction which requires him to absorb ki from women to stay alive, you may soon have no choice but to seek tutelage from some other grandmaster if you desire for your family Art to succeed and flourish in the future. If you desire, I can be that person."

Ranma and Akane blinked, exchanged a look, and then both bowed to her. "Negako-sama, we will be more than happy to accept your offer," the former then said.

"But honour demands we must give our current grandmaster one last chance to prove himself to us before we abandon his school for yours," the latter then warned.

"Agreed."

"Um, Negako-sama . . .?"

"Yes, Kasumi?"

"Is Ojii-san's condition curable?"

A light smile crossed Negako's face. "It is."

"Then why hasn't he gone out to seek a cure?" Nabiki demanded.

A light shrug rolled their guest's shoulders. "He has never thought of the most simple matter towards seeking a cure, Nabiki," Negako stated. "There are people who are quite qualified to either fully heal him or at least help him better control his urges. Your friend Ono Tōfū, for example." She turned to head to the main gate. "All Happy has to do in the long run is go forth and _**ask**_ for that assistance."

Kasumi giggled. "Which he feels he doesn't _have_ to do!"

"Well, he's going to have to learn to be humble himself," Nabiki mused.

"Indeed he does. In the meantime, I have to return to help Deannette give Kanami her evening lessons. Have a good evening, everyone."

And with that, Negako bounded over the fence line to a nearby telephone pole, and then she darted off to the east and Taitō. The Tendō sisters and Ranma watched her go, and then he reached over to gently wrap his arm around his fiancée's shoulder. Akane blinked on sensing that contact, and then she smiled up at him. "So we can learn from a _real_ master of the Art. And find some way to get Kanami back into our lives."

"We can't push it with her," he warned her.

"True . . . "

"_**RANMA!**_"

Everyone tensed on hearing that shout, and then Kasumi sighed. "It took them a little longer to come back here than we expected," she noted.

Ranma peered in the direction of the main gate doors, his ki senses quickly picking up the presence of two very unwanted people. "Well, Jijii hasn't done anything to reverse what I did to Oyaji and your old man," he noted. "And if they try . . . "

_KKK-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZARK!_

"_**EEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAH . . .!**_"

All four people winced on hearing that wailing scream, which was mixed with the pained howl of a panda, and then they sighed as the faint odour of charred flesh and burnt fur tickled their noses. "We should put out a warning sign," Ranma advised.

"A good point," Kasumi stated as she turned to head inside . . .

* * *

A few minutes later, the front gate of the Tendō home opened, allowing Kasumi to step out. In her hands, she was holding a large sign. She didn't bother to give the pair of still-smoking heaps of burnt and battered flesh laid out on the street nearby a cursory look as she moved to place the sign over the challenge warning billboard set up beside the north post of the gate doors, right underneath the wooden dōjō sign proudly reading MUSABETSU KAKUTŌ-RYŪ - TENDŌ DŌJŌ. Once that was in place, she nodded in approval before heading back inside, closing the gate behind her.

"Kasumi . . . "

Stunned that his eldest daughter hadn't even bothered to come help him in his pain, Sōun moaned as he moved to slowly pick himself off the street. It was very hard; whatever it was that had electrocuted both him and Genma had nearly burned him right to the bone and the effects of the Ultimate Weakness moxibustion made moving around even if he wasn't injured quite difficult given his advanced age in comparison to Ranma. After what seemed like forever, he was able to get back onto his feet, and then Sōun staggered over to stare at the new sign Kasumi just set up.

It told him plenty.

**WARNING!**_  
This property is defended by a very active home-defence energy field!  
Contact with __**any**__ elements of the property (including outer fence) can be __**fatal**__!  
Do not attempt to break into the property!  
We will not be held responsible for death due to electrocution!_  
The Tendō family

On seeing that, Sōun collapsed and began to cry.

"Oh, forgot . . .!"

He instantly clammed up on seeing the front gate open again. Kasumi stepped out and pulled the dōjō sign off the wall. She turned, looking as calm as can be . . . and then, with all her strength, broke the lacquered wooden board over her father's head right in half! As he collapsed to the street in a moaning daze from the impact, she turned and walked back in, the gate closing and locking behind her . . .

* * *

Azuma High School, early next morning . . .

"So they put up a defence field around the house to keep the riff-raff out, eh?"

"So Negako told me," Kanami stated as she took a deep slurp of the apple juice she just got from the vending machine set up close to the main doors of the school. "It's powered by the same stuff that goes into Sensei's Power Jewel, so I doubt Jijii, much less Oyaji or old man Tendō - to say anything of the old ghoul, her great-granddaughter, much less the other nuts that live there - will be able to break in."

"Don't you think that's being a little harsh?" Yomi wondered before she took her own deep pull from the can of ice coffee she had obtained.

"Not really, especially when you consider all the crap those idiots put us through ever since we started living at that place," Kanami noted before she sat down on the bench beside Tariko, who was nibbling on a tray of chicken makizushi she had obtained at a corner store before coming to classes. "Especially Jijii. Coming in and actin' like he was the boss of everything when he never did a damned thing to _**teach**_ us the Art, not to mention acting like a total loon when he went out to do his panty raids and all that!" A shake of the head. "And then he turns around and sees to it we got blamed for almost every time he went on a damned rampage, just like that whole business with the idiots from Qǐnkūnlún!" A snort, and then she jolted as Tariko fished out a cake of wrapped seaweed around vinegar-soaked rice and chicken strips. "Hey!"

"Eat!" Ataru's sister ordered.

"Hai . . . "

The others watching this all smirked or giggled. "Hey, Chiyo-chan! Are you going to be working at the Magnetron this summer?" Tomo then asked.

"Well, actually, no," Chiyo replied.

Everyone stared at her. "You're not? Why not?" Ayumu asked.

The young prodigy smiled. "Well, Raeburn-shōsa wanted to take Kanami-san and Tariko-san out on a training trip, so I told her it was alright for her to bring them over to the summer house in Kamogawa so they could train there. There's enough room, not to mention some forest beside the house itself." She then gazed on the others. "We can all go down this weekend and stay there for the whole month."

"Hey! That's cool!" Tomo whooped.

"I even told Raeburn-shōsa she could invite her friends, too!"

Silence.

"You mean the other War Hawks?" Kanami demanded as all of the others gaped at Chiyo. "Dover-shōsa, Thompkins-shōsa and Larsden-jōgunsō?"

"Hai!"

"Whoa . . . " Michiko breathed out.

"We'll have to talk to our parents first about being gone for the whole month," Yomi then warned. "Not to mention get packed and ready right away."

The others nodded. "Yukari-chan and Nyamo-sensei are coming as well, right?" Ataru then asked as he slipped his arm around the back of Ayumu's waist.

"Sure! We need them to drive us down there!" Tomo warned, and then she cackled. "Oh, man! I can't wait to get down there! Yukari-chan really can drive . . .!"

"TOMO!" Yomi yelled as Chiyo began to shake and moan.

As Yomi and Kiyomi both moved to comfort the shuddering young prodigy, Ataru took a deep breath before turning to gaze at Michiko. "And she actually compares herself to Mine Fujiko from _Lupin III_?" he asked as he indicated Tomo.

"Admitted it to me herself back in class!" the athlete/swimmer stated as she shook her head. "Even did this dorky imitation of her callin' out to him!"

"HEY!" Tomo screamed out. "Who are you callin' 'dorky,' dork?"

As she and Michiko began to scream at each other, Ataru sighed. "And she's the same girl that coined that idiot nickname for you," he mused as he gazed on Ayumu.

"HEY!" Tomo yelled as she spun on him. "Who are you callin' 'idiot,' idiot?"

"Well, you really don't have much in the way of imagination if you turned around and called your hamster 'Hammy' and your dog 'Kuro' because his fur was black!"

"HEY!" Tomo howled as she gazed on Yomi. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Yeah, it is kinda weird for a girl to nickname someone 'Ōsaka' when said girl was born and raised in Wakayama and went to elementary school in Kōbe," Ataru noted.

The raven-haired wildcat growled. "She has to be Ōsaka!" she then snapped.

"Ayumu."

"Ōsaka!"

"Ayumu."

"ŌSAKA!"

"Ayumu."

"_**Ō**__**SAKA!**_"

"Ayumu-san."

That was Chiyo. "HEY!" Tomo yelped.

"Ayumu-chan."

That was Kiyomi. "SAKAKI!" Tomo moaned.

"'Yumu-chan!"

That was Michiko this time. "KAGURA!" Tomo wailed.

"Give it up, Tomo," Yomi then scolded. "Ayumu is Ayumu!"

"_**SHE'S **__**Ō**__**SAKA!**_"

"No, she's Ayumu," Ataru stated as he gave Tomo a knowing look. "Maybe we should call you 'Tani Fujiko' instead of 'Mine Fujiko.'"

Michiko howled as Tomo gaped in shock at him and the other girls all snickered or smirked; the kanji that went into the word _tani_ meant "valley," which was the total opposite of the kanji going into Fujiko's family name _mine_, meaning "mountain peak." "Hey! That's a perfect nickname for her!" Yomi said as she winked at Chiyo, who was now grinning with delight. "She'll be Tani-chan now!" she then declared.

"_**HEY!**_" Tomo screamed. "_**WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? 'PICK ON TOMO DAY?'**_"

"No, it's 'Pick on Tani day!'" Ayumu declared.

Tomo howled with outrage as the others all laughed . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_


End file.
